When the MTV Video Music Awards come to mind, three things also come to mind: Lady Gaga's meat dress, Britney Spears' iconic snake performance, and Kanye West snatching a mic from Taylor Swift. Whether you want to admit it or not, the country-turned-pop phenomenon is the face of the annual awards show – year after year, she's part of drama relating to the VMAs.
Let's not forget 2015, when she thought Nicki Minaj had subtweeted her – and then they made up and performed a mashup of "The Night is Still Young" and "Bad Blood" at the show.
That same year, she partied with a pregnant Kim Kardashian West and presented Kanye West with not only an olive branch, but his Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian West watch Kanye West at the 2015 Video Music Awards.Kevin Mazur
That's when all was well… until the Kardashian West / Swift war commenced once again on Snapchat.
Even just last year, Swift made sure to premiere the music video to her comeback single, "Look What You Made Me Do," during VMAs airtime – when on again/off again rival Katy Perry hosted the show. Shortly after, the cinematic masterpiece was uploaded to VEVO and broke records, gaining 43.2 million views in 24 hours.
Nominations for the 2018 VMAs were announced via MTV's Instagram in an IGTV feature – and Miss Swift was nowhere to be found in the major fan-voting categories. Contenders for major categories include Cardi B, who rang in the most nominations with ten, The Carters with eight nominations, and both Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello with five nominations. Swift received only three nominations, all in professional categories: Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing.
The singer had been absent from the limelight since her "1989" era came to an end in 2015, but two years later, she made a made a triumphant comeback with "Reputation" – a record taking an entirely new artistic direction. Swift's sixth studio album broke records, making 700,000 album sales within the first day of its release. "Reputation" masterfully shares the star's narrative through a dark, upbeat dance record with notable assistance from producers Max Martin, Shellback, and Bleachers front-man Jack Antonoff.
There's no doubt that the "Look What You Made Me Do" video is one of Swift's more iconic works, as it features a conglomeration of her past and present personas. It's even ridden with countless references to her drama. According to fans, it was deserving of a "Video of the Year" nomination, or maybe even a "Best Pop" nomination.
So why was Swift snubbed at the 2018 VMAs? Fans took to Twitter to express their confusion:
@PopFactsNews / Twitter
Aside from "Look What You Made Me Do," Swift's only vocal collaboration, "End Game," with Ed Sheeran and Future, was also snubbed for a nomination in the Best Collaboration category. From Miami to Tokyo, she basically traveled the world in this party of a video and rocked flashy "Reputation" gear.
We just don't get it. Did she miss the deadline?
Do you think Taylor Swift was snubbed at this year's VMAs? Or did she totally deserve it?
The 2018 MTV Video Music Awards are set to air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Monday, August 20th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
