Taylor Swift Debuts Patient Zero Video at VMAs

Taylor Swift released her new single Patient Zero on September 25. Swift premiered the Patient Zero music video at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27. Dakota Johnson, Colin Farrell and Taylor Swift appear in the music video. Cara Delevingne plays the other woman whom Johnson's character suspects is flirting with her husband. Swift directed the Patient Zero music video and worked with Emmanuel Lubezki.

At the 2026 VMAs, Swift received the inaugural Artist Director Honors award. During her VMAs speech, Swift said she had been involved in making about 60 music videos and had written and directed 18 of them. Patient Zero is one of four previously unreleased tracks added to the extended version of The Life of a Showgirl. The other three new songs on the extended album are Cleveland!, Pink Clouding and Babylon.

Swift won Video of the Year for The Fate of Ophelia. Swift said she wrote the new songs on The Life of a Showgirl with Max and Shellback in Sweden. The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards are being held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and are hosted by Snoop Dogg.