Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to ‘Ultimate Showgirl’ Dolly Parton During 2026 MTV VMAs

Honoring a legend, Taylor Swift paid tribute to “Ultimate Showgirl” Dolly Parton while accepting Video of the Year at the 2026 MTV VMAs.

After accepting the award from the award show’s host, Snoop Dogg, for the music video of her hit single “Fate of Ophelia,” Swift spoke about the “9 to 5” hitmaker.

“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,” she stated. “Every single song that she wrote, her storytelling was so vivid and so rich.”

Swift further shared, “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’s written. And 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 or her career, she channeled back into love and gratitude and appreciation for her fans.”

The singer-songwriter went on to say she is lucky to be one of the fans Parton inspired throughout the years. “I think that we were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time,” she added. “And thank you for this amazing moment, I love you all.”

Parton unexpectedly passed away at the age of 80 on August 26. It was later reported that the country music legend had been secretly battling cancer in recent months.

Along with Video of the Year, Swift won Best Direction for “Opalite” and received the award show’s first-ever Artist Director Honors.

She was nominated for 9 other awards during this year’s MTV VMAs, including Best Pop, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects for “The Fate of Ophelia,” Best Album for The Life of a Showgirl, Song of Summer for “I Knew It, I Knew You,” and Artist of the Year.