Taylor Swift took a moment from her acceptance speech at the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday to commemorate the victims of the September 11 attacks.
The 34-year-old pop superstar was accepting the first Moon Man of the night after winning the Best Collaboration award with Post Malone for their single Fortnight.
After taking the stage and thanking her fans for being so ‘nice,’ Taylor launched into a remembrance of the terrorist attack, which occurred more than two decades ago.
‘You guys, I wanted to say, waking up this morning in New York on September 11th, I’ve been thinking about what happened 23 years ago,’ Taylor began.
She said her thoughts were with ‘Everyone who lost a loved one’ and ‘everyone that we lost,’ and she said that memory was ‘the most important thing about today.’
‘Everything that happens tonight falls behind that,’ Taylor added.
The death toll of the 9/11 attacks reached 2,977, making it the most deadly terrorist attack in history.
The attacks were carried out by 19 men affiliated with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, with 15 hailing from Saudi Arabia, while two were from the United Arab Emirates and one each were from Egypt and Lebanon.
Two passenger jets were hijacked by the men and were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, while a fourth, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers revolted against the hijackers.
After her short remembrance, Taylor turned back to giving thanks for her Best Collaboration award.
‘It’s so amazing to have the opportunity to thank and honor the people who work so hard with me on this video,’ she continued as she turned to her Post Malone collaboration.
She had a humorous encounter with Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav, who is an avowed Swifty.
The Shake It Off singer and her collaborator also earned the Song of the Summer award for Fortnight later in the ceremony.
She was among the best-dressed stars of the night thanks to her tartan, which made some fans think she was preparing to announce a ‘Taylor’s Version’ rerecording of her Reputation album.
Her look consisted of a yellow-and-black plaid top half with an open skirt, which revealed black hot shorts that matched her thigh-high boots and lace-up gloves.
Taylor was dressed in Dior Resort 2025 and sparkled thanks to Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, which included 30-carat pear-shaped canary yellow diamond earrings that were surrounded by tasteful black jade.
She joined music’s biggest stars as they came together for another night of celebration at MTV’s legendary VMAs.
This year’s festivities are hosted by rapper Megan Thee Stallion and are being held at the UBS Arena on Long Island.
In addition to hosting, Megan, 29, is nominated for five awards, including best collaboration and best hip-hop. She previously won best power anthem for Hot Girl Summer.
The evening will be a who’s who of music superstars, with Sabrina Carpenter, Katy Perry, Camila Cabello, GloRilla, Rauw Alejandro, Benson Boone, Halsey, LISA, Lenny Kravitz, Anitta, Karol G, LL Cool J and Shawn Mendes all set to perform.
The MTV VMAs are airing live beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
This year’s recipient of the legendary Video Vanguard Award will be Katy Perry.
‘Katy is a musical powerhouse and true pop culture icon,’ said Bruce Gillmer, chief content officer of music at Paramount+ and president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount, in a statement.
‘With her game changing creative vision, she has become a global phenomenon and taken over the world’s biggest stages,’ he added.
Past winners of the Video Vanguard Award include David Bowie, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Pink.
The award comes as Perry prepares to release her upcoming seventh studio album, 143.
Her comeback single from the album, Woman’s World, previously flopped on the charts following its release over the summer.
As for accolades, Taylor Swift is the most-nominated artist at the event with an impressive 10 nods.
The hitmaker, 34, has the chance to make history, as she could become the first artist to win Video of the Year five times. She already holds the record for most Video of the Year victories with four trophies under her name.
Her collaboration with Post Malone, the track Fortnight, is up for Video of the Year.
Post Malone trails Taylor by just one nomination, with nine total, though most of his nominations are for their collaboration.
The only nomination he received without Taylor’s assistance was for Best Collaboration for I Had Some Help, his song with Morgan Wallen.
Also up for six nominations are Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and Eminem.
Like Megan Thee Stallion, SZA is nominated for five awards.
Meanwhile, Olivia Rodrigo, Teddy Swims and Blackpink member Lisa all tied with four nods each.
Benson Boone, Anitta, Dua Lipa, Tyla, Bleachers and GloRilla each earned three nominations.
