Bebe Rexha was 29 years old and had a Best New Artist nomination when she was left without a dress for the 2019 Grammys.
According to what she said at the time in an Instagram message, later deleted, several designers didn’t want to dress her because they considered her “too big”. She was referring to a size 6-8. “
Seven years later, on the red carpet at the 2026 MTV VMAs, she recalled it to Keltie Knight of E! News: she said almost no one approached her. Some people did, she clarified, but one gesture meant more than all the others.
Taylor Swift reached out to her. They are the same age, and according to Rexha, having an artist at that level extend a hand made her feel that she belonged in the industry. The memory came on the same night Swift received the first Artist Director Honors award, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.