Why Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and More Stars Skipped the VMAs

The 2024 MTV Video MusicAwards brought together Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and more, but several nominees were notably missing in action.

Swift, 34, won big at the awards show on Wednesday, September 11, taking home seven awards including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year. Perry, 39, was honored as the Video Vanguard recipient.

The night was also a milestone for Chappell Roan, who ultimately won the Moonperson for Best New Artist.

“I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people who fuel pop,” Roan, 26, said in her acceptance speech. “To the gays, who dedicate my songs to someone they love or hate … for all the queer kids in the midwest watching right now, I see you. I understand you, because I am one of you.”

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There were plenty of nominees, however, who skipped the big event in New York. Keep scrolling to find out who missed the awards show — and why:

Billie Eilish

Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” won Video for Good during the preshow, but she didn’t attend in person. While the singer has not revealed the reason for her absence, it’s likely that Eilish was busy with rehearsals for her upcoming Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.

Ariana Grande

Back in July, Grande revealed that she was taking a step back from any work commitments outside of Wicked. (Grande stars as Galinda/Glinda in the upcoming musical movie, which hits theaters in November.)

“I love you all so much. I have decided to put a temporary pin in all things that are not Wicked for now,” Grande wrote via Instagram Story. “Thank you in advance for understanding. I am deeply grateful for your patience and, mostly, so inexplicably excited for all that is to come. There is so much. See you soon.”

During the awards show, a new Glinda-centric Wicked trailer was featured between performances. Grande’s boyfriend, Ethan Slater, shared the footage via his Instagram Story with the caption, “She’s good.”

Olivia Rodrigo

Rodrigo is currently on the international leg of her GUTS World Tour. Her next concert is Sunday, September 15, in Bangkok.

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Beyonce

Beyoncé also skipped the ceremony without explaining why. She noted in her recent GQ profile that she craved “space” after releasing Cowboy Carter.

“The music needed space to breathe on its own. Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music,” Beyoncé explained. “The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film.”

Doja Cat

Doja, who performed at last year’s show, did not bring her signature style to the carpet once again despite being nominated for Video of the Year.

Jelly Roll

Despite earning multiple nominations, Jelly Roll did not attend the VMAs on Wednesday. That same night, Jelly Roll documented his evening at a Michelin-star sushi restaurant in California via social media.

Jelly Roll, however, lent Eminem a helping hand for his show-stopping opening number by providing background vocals in a pretaped video.

Morgan Wallen

Wednesday would have been Wallen’s VMAs debut, but he was presumably absent because of touring conflicts. (Wallen next performs in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Friday, September 20.)

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Dua Lipa

While Lipa did not attend, she celebrated her song “Houdini” winning Best Choreography.

“I KNOW THASSSS RIGHT @charmladonna !!!!! Worth all the bruises!!!!” she wrote via Instagram on Thursday, September 12. “We have come so far and got more to goooo Thank youuuuu for all the and support!!!! .”

Travis Kelce

Fans hoped that the VMAs could be the couple’s official red carpet debut following their weekend in NYC. Kelce did not attend the show in person — he previously sent his best wishes during the Wednesday episode of his “New Heights” podcast — due to football commitments in Kansas City. Kelce’s next Kansas City Chiefs game takes place on Sunday.

Swift, however, gave Kelce a sweet shout-out in her Video of the Year speech.

“The thing is that this video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was, like, the most fun video to make,” Swift gushed of shooting “Fortnight” with Post Malone. “Something that I’ll always remember is when I would finish a take and I’d say cut and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering ‘woo’ from across the studio where we were shooting it, and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis.”

She added, “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I wanna thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.”

Kelce, in turn, “liked” MTV’s Instagram video of the speech.