Taylor Swift honours Dolly Parton at VMAs, becomes most-awarded artist

Taylor Swift paid tribute to the late Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, telling the audience she would remain a fan of the country music icon for life.

Accepting one of her awards during the ceremony, Swift said Parton channelled everything that happened in her life and career back into love, gratitude and appreciation for her fans.

Parton died on August 25, 2026, after what was described as a brief battle with cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre in Nashville.

The night also brought a milestone for Swift, who overtook Beyoncé to become the most-awarded artist in the history of the VMAs. She accepted the inaugural artist director honour, won video of the year and unveiled a new music video.

Swift was introduced by her friend Dakota Johnson, who called her a storyteller and an architect of emotional landscapes filled with intimate and intricate detail. Johnson noted that Swift is the most decorated artist in the show's history, and a video package highlighting her work as a music video director played before she took the stage. On her way up, Swift stopped to hug Ella Bright of Off Campus.

In her remarks, Swift thanked MTV for championing music videos and for giving the art form a platform long ago, and expressed gratitude to her fans. She said she had been involved in the creation of 60 music videos over her career, including 18 she wrote and directed herself.

She then introduced the video for her latest single, Patient Zero, which features Johnson and Colin Farrell.