Taylor Swift had one big takeaway from Katy Perry‘s Video Vanguard Award speech at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
Swift, 34, gave Perry, 39, a standing ovation as the “Roar” singer accepted the honor on Wednesday, September 11. At one point during her speech, Perry showed love to the LGBTQIA+ community that has supported her since day one.
“You showed me that you can be both kind and c—,” she added.
The audience erupted into applause following Perry’s comment. In footage shared via Bustle’s Instagram account, Swift turned to BFF and key collaborator Jack Antonoff and nodded, giving him a knowing smile. Antonoff, 40, pointed at his friend from his seat and laughed.
“#TaylorSwift felt seen by that one,” read the caption.
Perry performed a medley of her biggest hits — from “I Kissed a Girl” to “California Gurls” — and previewed songs from her upcoming album, 143, before giving her rousing speech.
“Thank you MTV for always believing in my weirdness from day one and helping artists extend their worlds beyond a song,” Perry said. “There are so many things that have to align to have a successful career as an artist. There are no decade-long accidents.”
Swift was on her feet throughout Perry’s performance, dancing along to “Teenage Dream,” “E.T.” and more. The artists have a long history — and even share a mutual ex in John Mayer — but have patched up their rocky relationship in recent years.
The drama began in 2014 when Perry allegedly swiped some of Swift’s backup dancers for a tour. Following a string of diss tracks (Swift’s “Bad Blood” and Perry’s “Swish Swish”), social media shade and eyebrow-raising interview comments, Swift and Perry eventually brokered peace in 2018. One year later, Perry made an appearance in Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video.
“Even though it was difficult, it was important to make that appearance in the music video because people want people to look up to. We wanted it to be an example of unity,” Perry said of shooting the video in a 2020 interview with Australia’s Stellar magazine. “Forgiveness is important. It’s so powerful. If you can forgive your enemy, that’s amazing. As difficult as it is!”
Both women won big at the VMAs on Wednesday, with Swift taking home an impressive seven awards, including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year. Perry, meanwhile, won Most Iconic VMAs Moment for her 2013 performance of “Roar.”
“I love you Katy Cats so much,” Perry said after being surprised with the honor on the red carpet. “Don’t make me cry!”
