Taylor Swift, Lisa and Sabrina Carpenter Take Top VMAs Prizes

Taylor Swift accepted the Video of the Year Award for "The Fate of Ophelia" at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 27. Lisa took Best Pop for "Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi," and Sabrina Carpenter and Madonna accepted the award for best collaboration for "Bring You Love" on the same night. Teyana Taylor spoke onstage during the show.

The VMAs closed a September that began on the Lido. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival opened with George Clooney, Laura Dern, Kate Mara, Claire Foy and jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal among the first arrivals. Clooney appeared at a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement press conference on September 2. Guy Pearce, Claire Foy, Jack O'Connell and director Danny Boyle posed at the photocall for "INK" the same day; Boyle received Variety's Creative Impact in Directing Award at the magazine's Venice Pre-Opening Night Party at Hotel Excelsior on September 1.

Venice delivered premieres through the festival's first week. Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse, in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, arrived at the "Primetime" premiere on September 5. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in Celine, attended the "Wild Horse Nine" premiere on September 3. Luca Marinelli, Susan Sarandon, Alicia Vikander and director Andrea Pallaoro premiered "The Echo Chamber" on September 6, with Michael Fassbender in a Berluti tuxedo at the screening. Pamela Anderson appeared at amfAR Venezia 2026 at Molino Stucky on September 6, and Jane Fonda attended The DVF Awards in Venice, where she and Gisele Pelicot were among the honorees. Sydney Sweeney and Jonathan Bailey turned out for the 2026 Armani Beauty Dinner at Giardini Reali on September 3.

In Los Angeles, Mark Wahlberg premiered "By Any Means" at the Paramount Theatre on September 1, joined by Elegance Bratton, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie and Chester Algernal Gordon. Ryan Reynolds, Maria Bakalova and Kenneth Branagh premiered their Apple TV buddy comedy "Mayday" at AMC Lincoln Square in New York the same day. A day later, Jason Momoa, Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Kitao Sakurai and Hirooki Goto launched the promotional tour for "Street Fighter" — the third live-action feature based on the video game series — at a photo call at Sensō-ji in Tokyo.

Toronto hosted its own run of premieres. Linda Cardellini and William Catlett attended the "Crystal Lake" premiere at the TIFF Lightbox on September 16. Florian Zeller attended a reception for "Bunker," and Ira Sachs, Adam Arkin, Cole Sprouse and Diego Luna received The Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative Awards during the festival. Sarah Paulson, Michelle Yeoh and Colman Domingo joined Ayo Edebiri and Lily Rose Depp at Variety and Chanel's Women in Film Dinner on September 11. Penélope Cruz arrived at Netflix's "La Bola Negra" Canadian premiere on September 15, where filmmakers Los Javis — Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo — posed with fans. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Jim Morrison attended the IMAX Canadian premiere of "Everest: The Other Side" on September 12.

New York held its ground in parallel. Neon opened the New York Film Festival with "Paper Tiger" at Alice Tully Hall on September 25, drawing Adam Driver, Miles Teller, Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost. Ed Harris and Jessica Lange screened their film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at Film at Lincoln Center on September 14. Jaÿ-Z took the stage at Lincoln Center for the world premiere of his HBO Original documentary "Jaÿ-Z." Celine Dion returned to live performance before a sold-out crowd at the Plenitude Arena in Paris on September 12. Olivia Rodrigoplayed the first of two sold-out "The Unraveled Tour" shows at People's Bank Arena in Hartford on September 25.

The fashion capitals answered. Jennifer Lopez attended Vogue World: Milano 2026 at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on September 22. Cardi B arrived at the Roberto Cavalli show in Milan on September 24; Shawn Mendes performed at the Gucci store on September 24; Kate Mara, Leighton Meester and Kelly Rutherford sat front row at Max Mara. Demi Moore, Janelle Monae, Rachel Zegler and Penn Badgley attended the Thom Browne show at The Shed on September 15. Jonathan Bailey and Benito Skinner took in Burberry at Chelsea College of Arts in London on September 21.

The month's honors spanned causes and careers. Nia Long received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 16. Patti LaBelle was honored at the 6th Annual BMAC Gala at The Beverly Hilton on September 24. Mariska Hargitay won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary Nonfiction Program for "My Mom Jayne" at Emmy Awards Night 1 at the Peacock Theater on September 5. Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King and Mellody Hobson gathered at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Opening Night Gala on September 19 — and four days later the museum hosted its first movie premiere, DreamWorks Animation's "Forgotten Island," with Dave Franco, H.E.R., Jenny Slate, Dolly De Leon and Manny Jacinto.

Colman Domingo hosted the Kering Foundation's Fifth Annual Caring For Women Dinner at The Pool on September 10, where Dakota Johnson, Salma Hayek Pinault, François-Henri Pinault, Pamela Anderson and Anne Hathaway were guests. Hathaway doubled up that week, attending the Moncler Fifth Avenue opening with Julia Roberts and the Bvlgari Serpenti Infinito party with Dua Lipa and Lisa.

September still has the Creative Arts Emmys, the Primetime Emmys, the Toronto International Film Festival's closing stretch and New York Fashion Week ahead on the calendar — and with Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" now holding Video of the Year, the awards-season conversation has its first anchor.