The VMAs won’t have their queen this year — Taylor Swift is sitting this one out.
The pop star will not be attending the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday, September 7, following several reports. The “cardigan” singer is currently preparing for the October 3 release of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, and will skip the ceremony at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York — despite being nominated for Artist of the Year alongside Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen and The Weeknd.
But don’t count Taylor out of history-making. The singer is currently tied with Beyoncé for the most VMAs ever awarded, with 30 wins each. If she takes home another Moon Person this year, she will officially become the most decorated artist in the awards’ 1984-to-present history — even if she watches from afar.
Her absence comes during a particularly busy week for her family life. Travis Kelce, to whom Taylor got engaged last month, is set to kick off the NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs tonight, September 5, in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.
This year marks the first time Taylor will miss the VMAs since 2021, a ceremony that has long been full of historic moments for the singer. Last year, she publicly acknowledged Travis as her boyfriend while accepting her award for Video of the Year for “Fortnight” with Post Malone.
“This video seems very sad when you watch it, but it was actually the most fun video to make,” Taylor said during her acceptance speech, recalling the behind-the-scenes energy. Between takes, she added, she could “always just hear someone cheering, like, ‘Whoo!’ from across the studio.” To roaring applause, Taylor confirmed, “That one person was my boyfriend, Travis.”
And it wasn’t the first time she made the VMAs a launchpad for major moments. In 2022, she began her tradition of grand album announcements while accepting the same award for “All Too Well: The Short Film.” As she told fans at the time, “I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous, and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you.”
