NME just gave Taylor Swift the middle finger—and she thanked them for it
It’s been a big week for Taylor Swift. On Monday, she took home an armful of Grammy awards. And now, she has one more big golden trophy to add to her shelf: An NME award, in the shape of a giant middle finger. Yes, really.
If you aren’t familiar, the NME Awards is a show put on by the British music magazine New Musical Express. They give away traditional-sounding awards like “Best Album” and “Best Video,” but they don’t stop there. They also give out more non-traditional awards. Some are nice, like “Best Fan Community.” And then there are categories like “Villain of the Year” and “Worst Band Award.” It sounds harsh, but it’s all done in good fun and good humor—and has been annually since 1953.
This year, Taylor was lucky to nab one of the kinder titles: Best International Solo Artist. She wasn’t able to be at the award show to accept the honor in person, but she did film an acceptance video thanking NME for the statue.
“I got the award in the mail. And I gotta be honest with you about this. When you first open up the box, this feels a little aggressive,” she said of the trophy’s giant middle finger. “And then you get used to it.” We have to wonder—where does Tay keep all of these awards? Is there even room for one more?! We bet she’ll make room for a hilarious one like this. It perfectly fuels her “eff the haters” mentality, don’t you think? “Just saying, first impressions were a little weird here,” she continued in her speech. “But now I understand that this is actually like, a strange compliment. You’re being cheeky about it!” Despite the explicit gesture of their trophy, NME obviously has a lot of love for Taylor. The magazine named her one of their People of the Year in 2015.
Watch her full acceptance video to see Taylor with her new trophy!