Taylor Swift dedicated her Video of the Year award at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards to Dolly Parton, praising the country music star as “the ultimate showgirl”.
Swift, 36, won the final award of the night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday for the video to “The Fate of Ophelia”. It was her sixth victory in the category, with the award presented by host Snoop Dogg.
Accepting the honour, Swift said she was particularly proud of the video because it was filmed in “one continuous shot”, requiring her to learn “a lot about hiding cuts”.
She then turned her attention to Parton, who had died the previous month, telling the audience: “I want to thank and dedicate this award to one person, without whom just this wouldn’t be happening, and that person is the ultimate showgirl, Dolly Parton.”
Swift went on to praise Parton’s songwriting and storytelling, saying: “Every single song that she wrote, her storytelling was so vivid and so rich. It was like listening to her songs.”
She added that Parton had handled her career “with such grace and joy and love and gratitude”, and had channelled everything that happened in her life “back into love, and gratitude and appreciation for her fans”.
“I am lucky I got to be one of them, and I will always be one of them,” Swift said. “I think that we were all very, very… I think we were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time.”
The award was Swift’s second of the evening. She had earlier received the first-ever Artist Director Honors.
Swift also premiered the music video for “Patient Zero” during the ceremony.
