Taylor Swift honors 'ultimate showgirl' Dolly Parton after winning Video of the Year at 2026 VMAs

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Taylor Swift dedicated her 2026 MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year to Dolly Parton, honoring the late country music icon during her acceptance speech.

Swift won the award for 'The Fate of Ophelia' from her 'The Life of a Showgirl' album at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27. Host Snoop Dogg presented her with the accolade, marking her sixth Video of the Year win.

Taylor Swift honors Dolly Parton during acceptance speech

"I want to thank and dedicate this award to one person, without whom this wouldn’t be happening, and that person is the ultimate showgirl, Dolly Parton,” Swift said during her acceptance speech. Parton died on August 25 at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer. 

Swift praised Parton’s songwriting and storytelling, saying, “Every single song that she wrote, her storytelling was so vivid and so rich. … Listening to her songs, it’s like watching the best music video you have ever seen in your life every single time you hear what she has written.”

“She handled this thing with such grace and joy and love and gratitude for the fact that she got to do this, and everything that happened in her life and her career, she channeled back into love and gratitude and appreciation for her fans," the 36-year-old continued. 

She added that she was “lucky” to have been one of Parton’s fans and said everyone was “very, very … lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time.” 

Swift had also shared a tribute to Parton after her death, writing, “A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,” and describing her as “the gift that kept on giving” while praising her melodies and lyrics, the books she provided to children, and the example she set for young girls, as well as her “softest heart” and “backbone of steel.”

Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton shared mutual admiration

When nominations were announced in August, Swift was among six artists nominated for Video of the Year. Ariana Grande received a nomination for 'Hate That I Made You Love Me', while Sabrina Carpenter was nominated for 'Tears', and Madonna for 'Confessions II – The Film'.

Swift’s 2024 acceptance speech for the award also marked one of her first major public comments about then-boyfriend Travis Kelce, whom she married this summer after three years together. She recalled hearing Kelce cheering from across the studio while filming the video and thanked him for bringing “happiness and fun and magic” to the shoot.

Parton had also publicly praised Swift, calling her “amazing” for what she had accomplished in her career. 

In a 2024 interview with Variety, Parton said, “I just admire her very much and how she’s handled her business, her personal life, and what all she has meant to so many young people,” adding, “[She’s] been a great inspiration. And Lord knows we need some uplifting people and things this day and time.”

Swift, who began her career in country music before achieving crossover success, previously described Parton as a “force of evolution and transformation” and a “storyteller for the ages.”