Taylor Swift dedicates VMAs Video of the Year win to 'ultimate showgirl’ Dolly Parton in emotional speech

Taylor Swift took home Video of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards for The Fate of Ophelia, and used her time on stage to pay tribute to the late Dolly Parton.

Accepting the night's top prize at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27, Swift called Parton the ultimate showgirl, a fitting nod from an artist whose latest era is The Life of a Showgirl. "We were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton," Swift said.

She went on to describe how listening to Parton's songs felt like watching a vivid music video, and praised the grace and joy with which the country legend handled her career, turning everything she experienced into love.

The tribute carried extra weight. Parton, whose powerful vibrato, heartfelt songwriting and dazzling costumes carried her from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to global stardom, died of cancer in Nashville in August at the age of 80. The VMAs also honoured her with a special tribute performance by Kacey Musgraves.

The win capped a big night for Swift, who entered the ceremony as the second-most-nominated artist, behind only Madonna. Earlier in the evening, she received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors and premiered the music video for her new single "Patient Zero," which stars Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson. Swift directed the video herself, and the song is one of four previously unreleased tracks on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.