Taylor Swift Thanks Travis Kelce in Her 2024 VMAs Speech

Taylor Swift gave Travis Kelce a sweet shout-out at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

When the pop star, 34, took the stage at New York’s UBS Arena to accept the Video of the Year award for “Fortnight” from The Tortured Poets Department on Wednesday, September 11, she thanked the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, also 34.

“The thing is that this video seems very sad when you watch, it but it actually was, like, the most fun video to make,” Swift gushed. “Something that I’ll always remember is when I would finish a take and I’d say cut and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering ‘woo’ from across the studio where we were shooting it, and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis.”

She added: “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I wanna thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.”

Ahead of the awards show, Swift led the nominations with 12, including Artist of the Year and Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction for “Fortnight.” Prior to the ceremony, Swift had already earned 23 VMAs throughout her career.

Swift is currently on a break from her Eras Tour following the August 20 conclusion of the European leg. She will return to the stage with stops in the U.S. and Canada in October, November and December.

Amid Swift’s downtime, Kelce is busy with the NFL season. The couple spent the summer traveling around Europe together until he reported for training camp in July. After weeks apart, they were spotted at her Rhode Island home in August once she wrapped up her London shows and he completed his preseason games.

“She was so happy to reunite with him and just be together,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly of their staycation.

Swift and Kelce were joined by their famous friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum, Jason and Kylie Kelce and Patrick and Brittany Mahomes.

“Taylor has been on tour and working nonstop, and she loves the Rhode Island house and wanted to spend some time there while the weather is still good and she can enjoy it,” the insider revealed, noting that the “preplanned celebration” allowed the group to “get some R&R” as summer wound down.

Swift took advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with her loved ones after an especially hectic few months. “It has felt wonderful to be grounded back home again,” the source continued. “It’s been grounding to see friends and family and spend quality time with everyone, chat and get downloaded on everyone’s worlds because she has been so busy and disconnected.”

Amid Swift’s hiatus, Kelce reflected on his Eras Tour stage debut in June when he surprised fans at a London concert by appearing during the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” costume change.

“I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t a lot of [prep work],” he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” on September 3. “Taylor knew that when the lights are on, I’m going to have some fun. She put me in a position where I didn’t have to do much for it to be a success. She put me in a really comfortable part of the show and I was there just to not screw anything up.”

While Kelce took a playful approach to his cameo, he knew the importance of his role. “I just didn’t want to drop her when I was carrying her on that stage,” he added. “That would have been the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. Just getting her to the couch was the hardest part.”