Taylor Swift Refused to Perform at the VMAs…Unless This Happened

Last night, Taylor Swift opened the 2019 Video Music Awards and performed two of her hit singles, “You Need to Calm Down” and “Lover.” However, you might be surprised to learn that MTV had to do some serious negotiating to secure the 29-year-old singer as a performer.

As it turns out, Swift gave the network an ultimatum: She’d only take the stage if all of the drag queens in her video received awards, too. (This meant handing out Moonmen to her entire team, versus one for the group.)

Trinity K. Bonet, who played Cardi B in “You Need to Calm Down,” announced the news in a video on her Instagram Story, saying, “I just want y’all to know that Taylor Swift made sure that each and every one of us gets two Moonmen for the awards she won tonight.”

During last night’s ceremony, Swift’s video for “YNTCD” took home two awards: Video of the Year and Video for Good. Although MTV switched things up this year and announced that it will be handing out only one Moonman per category, Bonet confirmed that the network altered the rules for Swift.

“[Taylor said] that she would not perform unless we got awards, too,” the drag queen added. “So, I’m going to have two Moonmen in my house with my name on it for Video of the Year at the f***ing VMAs!”

We were originally confused when the singer brought her entire team onstage while accepting her awards…but it all makes sense now. Shout-out to Swift for being selfless on a night that was supposed to be all about her.