John Travolta speaks out after mistaking drag artist for Taylor Swift in VMAs blunder
Travolta confused Swift with drag artist Jade Jolie
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.John Travolta has publicly commented on the blunder during which he appeared to mistake drag artist Jade Jolie for Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards.
Travolta was presenting the Video of the Year award when he seemed to briefly hand Swift’s trophy to Jolie – who, in all fairness, is an occasional Taylor Swift impersonator – instead of the singer.
The moment went viral on social media, but Travolta isn’t too concerned.
He was asked about the snafu on the HOT 93.3 radio station, where he said that Swift has been “so good” to his family and that they’ve exchanged notes in the past.
“There were so many people that bombarded the stage that I was looking for her,” he said. “So the video has me trying to find her but I thought it was so funny, the way it was interpreted. And it was cool, I didn’t care.”
Travolta offered an optimistic take on the incident, adding: “I have a sense of humour about all that and always have because, look: we’re in pretty good shape on the day – any given day that that kind of thing can make headlines.”
He also joked that he sometimes wonders what would have happened if he had given the trophy to Jolie instead, adding: “I should have just gone all the way with it.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments