Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “You Need to Calm Down” at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. During her speech, she thanked the cast of the video and called on the White House to respond to her petition regarding the Equality Act.
Earlier in the night, Swift performed “You Need to Calm Down” and delivered the live debut of “Lover.”
Taylor Swift called out the White House after she won the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards’ top prize — video of the year — for her LGBTQ pride anthem, "You Need to Calm Down."
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The "Lover" songstress opened the show at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with a performance of the hit song. Swift was flanked by colorful dancers then brought it back to her roots by bringing out her guitar to sing the title track of her new album "Lover."
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I just want to say that this is a fan-voted award. So, I first want to say thank you to the fans because in this video, several points were made, so you voting for this video means that you want a world where we're all treated equally," Swift said.
She continued: "Regardless of whom we are, regardless of how we identify, at the end of this video there was a petition -- and there still is a petition for the Equality Act, which basically just says we all deserve equal rights under the law.
"And, I want to thank everyone who signed that petition because it now has half-a-million signatures, which is five times the amount that it would need to warrant a response from the White House," added Swift while accepting the award. She then looked down at her wrist and tapped on it, seemingly referencing a watch.