Taylor Swift Accepts Best Pop At The MTV EMAs In A Super Awkward Backstage Moment

Taylor Swift surprisingly showed up at the 2022 MTV EMAs in Dusseldorf, Germany, today (November 13), and she was repaid by winning Best Artist, Best Pop, Best Longform Video, and Best Video. The Midnights maven accepted all, including two more awards for her All Too Well: The Short Film, on stage — except for Best Pop.

Hosts Rita Ora and Taika Waititi gave Swift a dose of her medicine by surprising her backstage. They gave her champagne, a random throw pillow, and a bucket. Ora expressed how happy everyone was to be in Swift’s presence and praised her acceptance speeches — and then things got awkward.

“How do you like your new award? Ora asked. “What is it?” Swift asked, not realizing the bucket in her hands was her Best Pop award. “They said you were saying hi, but I’m so happy to know that this is actually mine. They said you guys wanted to meet here, so I came back here. If this is indeed another award that is for me and we didn’t just make a mistake because we’re all having a good time, I would like to say, thank you to the fans — oh, it’s Best Pop?”

Swift continued, “OK, so I will say, I do some genre-shifting throughout my career. And so, I know how hard it is to be in pop music. You gotta wear a lot of sequins and learn choreography, and that is very hard. And I appreciate any award for that.”

Check out clips of Swift at the 2022 MTV EMAs below, and view the complete winners list here.