The life of a showgirl sometimes means having to miss an award ceremony or two.
As Taylor Swift prepares for the release of her new The Life of a Showgirl album in Oct. 3, she is opting to skip the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday, Sept. 7, E! News has learned.
Indeed, although Taylor is up for Artist of the Year alongside Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen and The Weeknd, she will not be in attendance at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, to see who will take home the Moon Person trophy.
Don’t try and come for Taylor’s job, though. After all, she could still make history from afar. The “Karma” singer and Beyoncé are currently tied for the artists with the most VMAs ever awarded with 30, and if Taylor is to take the cake this year, she will officially become the most decorated artist since the ceremony’s inception in 1984.
Though Taylor won’t be able to make it to see the major possibility unfold in person, it comes during a busy time for her family. Travis Kelce, to whom Taylor got engaged last month, is set to kick off the NFL season for the Kansas City Chiefs tonight, Sept. 5, in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.
The 2025 VMAs ceremony marks Taylor’s first time missing the event since 2021, and in the recent years she has had some very major moments at the ceremony. Last year, Taylor made the first public acknowledgement of Travis as her then-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 while accepting her award last year, noting that between takes she could “always just hear someone cheering, like, ‘Whoo!’ from across the studio.”
To uproarious applause, Taylor confirmed, “That one person was my boyfriend, Travis.”
And in 2022, Taylor began her tradition of grand album announcements by kicking off her Midnights era while accepting the same award for “All Too Well: The Short Film.”
As she told fans while accepting the award at the time ahead of the album, “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.”
Keep reading for more memorable moments from the VMAs ahead of this year’s ceremony…
Kanye West, 2009
The rapper crashed the stage when Taylor Swift won Best Female Video because he thought Beyoncé “had one of the best videos of all time.” When Bey later won for Video of the Year, she asked T.Swift to join her on stage to have her moment.
Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley, 1994
Shortly after their wedding, the couple walked on stage holding hands as the audience cheered. After Jackson declared, “I’m very happy to be here and just think, nobody thought this would last,” the King of Pop and Elvis Presley‘s daughter shared a kiss and walked off.
Beyoncé, 2011
The pop star announced she and Jay-Z were expecting their first child together when she cradled her baby bump on the red carpet and literally dropped her mic and rubbed her baby bump at the end of her performance of “Love On Top.”
Madonna, 1984
The “Material Girl” famously sang “Like a Virgin” while rolling around the stage in a white wedding dress.
Lady Gaga, 2010
Gaga made headlines when she sported the now-unforgettable meat dress by Franc Fernandez as the most awarded star of the night.
Britney Spears & Madonna, 2003
To open the show, Britney, Madonna and Christina Aguilera joined together for a rendition of “Like a Virgin” and “Hollywood,” sealed with a headline-making kiss between the women.
Diana Ross and Lil’ Kim, 1999
While presenting Best Hip-Hop Video, the legendary singer unexpectedly tapped Lil’ Kim‘s exposed left breast.
Rage Against the Machine, 2000
Who could forget when Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford expressed his displeasure at the band losing an award to Limp Bizkit by storming the stage and scaling a display tower? Although his moment was short-lived on television—since the network cut to a commercial—in reality, Tim’s night was not since he was arrested and sentenced to a night in jail.
Lil Mama, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, 2009
Believe or not, the Kanye West–Taylor Swift incident was not the only impromptu onstage moment to happen during the 2009 show. After the now-infamous interruption, Lil Mama decided to unexpectedly join fellow New Yorkers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys during their duet of “Empire State of Mind.”
Howard Stern, 1992
The Shock Jock lived up to his raunchy reputation when he was lowered onto the stage as a superhero named Fartman.
Kurt Cobain vs. Axl Rose, 1992
The two were involved in one of the most famous rock feuds. At the 1992 VMAs, tensions ran high backstage, where Cobain’s wife Courtney Love, who also brought along then-newborn daughter Frances Bean, taunted Rose, prompting the Guns N’ Roses frontman to threaten to beat up Cobain if he didn’t shut his “bitch” up. Kurt then told Love, sarcastically, “Shut up, bitch!”
After he performed with his band Nirvana, the group’s drummer Dave Grohl kept saying “Hi, Axl!” into his mic.
Fiona Apple, 1997
The songstress won the award for Best New Artist in a Video, but used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to speak out against Hollywood, telling viewers, “This world is bulls–t.”
Britney Spears, 2001
The pop princess unforgettably took the stage for her performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U” with a snake draped over her shoulders.
Eminem vs. Moby, 2002
Amid an ongoing feud between Eminem and Moby, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog poked fun at their beef while roasting the latter artist to his face in the VMAs audience. Triumph then attempted to do the same to Eminem, who was not in the mood.
Eminem later took to the stage to accept the award for Best Male Video and said mid-speech, “That little Moby girl threw me out of my zone for a minute.”
Britney Spears, 2007
The pop princess made her highly anticipated return to the VMA stage, though her performance of “Gimme More” was panned.
Justin Bieber, 2011
The Biebs had his own snake moment when he brought a baby boa constrictor named Johnson to the show.
Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus, 2015
While accepting the award for Best Hip-Hop Video for “Anaconda,” Nicki confronted Miley, who was hosting, over negative comments she had made about the rapper in a New York Times interview. She called the pop star a “bitch” and asked her, “What’s good?”
Kanye West, 2015
At the end of his lengthy Video Vanguard acceptance speech, the rapper unforgettably announced his plan to run for president in 2020.
Drake & Rihanna, 2016
The rapper sparked headlines when he declared his love for the songstress while presenting her with the 2016 Video Vanguard Award, telling the audience, “She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22-years-old.”
Fifth Harmony, 2017
On the heels of Camila Cabello‘s exit, the girl group shocked the world when they opened their performance with the image of a fifth member falling off the stage.
