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Taylor Swift goes into tonight’s MTV VMAs with 10 nominations, seven of which are for her pro-LGBTQ video “You Need to Calm Down” — including a nod for “Video for Good.” When the clip first dropped, some fans were surprised at Taylor’s very public show of support for the gay community, but her friend Todrick Hall, the video’s co-star and executive producer, says she’s always felt that way.
“When I first met her, she definitely always supported the LGBTQ+ community, but it wasn’t something that she was outwardly talking about…in her songs and doing activism for,” he tells ABC Radio. “And I would like to think that I’ve played even the smallest of parts in helping her come around and realizing how important it is for someone of her magnitude to be speaking out about it.”
In fact, Todrick did play a part, as Taylor herself explained in her recent Vogue magazine interview.
“She said that I was part of the reason why she decided to be so open about her support for the queer community,” he notes. “And just me talking to her, and being able to get her to see the importance of that, has been one of the most proud moments of my career, honestly,” says Todrick.
“And so for me to get to go to the VMAs with her and be nominated in that category is just the best feeling in the entire world and I hope we win,” he declares. “But just the fact that we’re nominated is a really, really, really awesome feat in and of itself.”
Taylor’s also performing at tonight’s VMAs for the first time since 2015. The show, which airs at 8 p.m. ET, also features The Jonas Brothers, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello and many more.
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