Sept. 27, 2026, 10:06 PM EDT / Updated Sept. 27, 2026, 10:13 PM EDT
<a href="https://comicvibe.com/mtv-vmas-2026-are-tonight-madonna-opens-the-show-taylor-swift-premieres-patient-zero-video-and-more-to-know/" title="MTV VMAs 2026 are tonight: Madonna opens the show, Taylor Swift premieres 'Patient Zero' video and more to know”>Taylor Swift surpassed Beyoncé to become the most-awarded artist in MTV Video Music Awards history Sunday when she brought her Moon Person statue total to 32.
Swift and Beyoncé had been tied with 30 VMAs.
Swift won the coveted video of the year award for “The Fate of Ophelia” and dedicated the award to the late Dolly Parton, whom she described as “the ultimate showgirl.”
“Every single song that she wrote, her storytelling was so vivid and so rich,” Swift said onstage. “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.”
Taylor Swift becomes VMA’s first Artist Director Honoree
Swift also received the show’s inaugural Artist Director Honors prize, which organizers said was designed to honor someone “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.”
Actor Dakota Johnson, a longtime friend of Swift’s, presented her with the award, describing her as “an architect of emotional landscapes filled with the most intimate and intricate detail.”
Onstage, Swift reflected on the roughly 60 music videos she has made over the last 20 years, 18 of which she has written and directed.
“I got to tell you, though, the main reason why I love writing and directing music videos so much is because you, the fans, make it so much fun,” Swift said after she thanked MTV.
The honor comes days after Swift released four new bonus tracks for “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” a deluxe edition of her 2025 album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
After her acceptance speech Sunday, Swift introduced the premiere of the music video for “Patient Zero,” one of the new tracks on the “Encore” edition.
The video, directed by Swift, co-stars Johnson and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell. Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, known for “The Revenant” and “Birdman,” did the cinematography.
“With the Patient Zero video, I got to explore the cinematic and literary genres I love so much. I wanted to incorporate elements of gothic ghost stories, true crime, psychological thrillers all in a setting I hadn’t really shot in much,” Swift wrote on social media after the video’s debut. “The house was a metaphor for the coldness of a relationship that’s faded and atrophied.”
Following its midnight release Friday, “Patient Zero” broke the record for the most-streamed song by a female artist in a day so far this year.
The song and the accompanying “Encore” drop also gave Swift the most streams out of any female artist in a day in 2026.
Other tracks on the album include “Cleveland!” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.”
