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Taylor Swift has dominated this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, taking home four of the six gongs she was up for – best artist, best video, best pop and best longform video.

There had been high hopes for some of the British stars up for awards – including Adele, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles, who had led the nominations, however – Swift proved herself to be queen of the MTV EMAs.

The 32-year-old megastar – who recently re-recorded some of her earliest hits in order to regain control of her work – praised her legion of fans (known as Swifties) as she accepted each award, thanking them for their unwavering support.

Power couple Taika Waititi (L) and Rita Ora hosted the night
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Power couple Taika Waititi (L) and Rita Ora hosted the night

When presented with the best artist gong by Baywatch star David Hasselhoff, Swift told the auditorium of screaming fans: “You have no idea how much this even means to me to do this as a career…

“There’s not a single moment I take that for granted. I love you so much, I can’t believe I get to do this as a job, and it’s all because of you. Thank you so, so much.”

The annual international music awards, which took place in Dusseldorf, Germany, and was hosted by celebrity power-couple Rita Ora and Taika Waititi, also saw stars including Nicki Minaj, Muse and Gorillaz take home gongs from 20 gender-neutral categories.

Read more: See the full list of MTV EMA winners here

More on Harry Styles

Performances on the night included Stormzy – who away from his normal style performed his ballad Fire Babe on TV for the first time – plus live music from Lewis Capaldi, Bebe Rexha, and Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra.

British TikTok star and Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder also bought a bit of Eurovision glam to the night, presenting the award for best collaboration to French DJ David Guetta and US star Bebe Rexha. Guetta also took best electronic act.

There was even a surprise recorded message from Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise, introducing OneRepublic’s Top Gun: Maverick hit song I Ain’t Worried.

As her night of wins continued, Swift accepted the best longform video award – which was one of two new categories this year – from singer/songwriter Julian Lennon, the son of the late John Lennon.

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Swift, accepting yet another prize

As she took to the stage, Swift again praised her fans for their continued support, telling them: “You’re the reason that anything has ever happened to me.”

She explained: “I have been writing and directing my music videos for a long time but this was the first short film I have made and I felt like I learned so much about myself of how making film can be a natural extension of my storytelling just like song writing.”

Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf actor Dylan O’Brien starred in the music video which went viral earlier this year after fans speculated the song was based on Swift’s break-up with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

As well as the long-form prize, it also took best video, with Swift telling fans: “This almost never happened,” going on to explain that when she first released the song 10 years ago it wasn’t a single, and didn’t have a video.

She went on: “I can only explain this by saying that the fans willed this to happen. I will never stop thanking you for this.”

Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra performed
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Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra performed

The video also picked up the prestigious video of the year gong at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year.

When handed the best pop prize, Swift joked: “You gotta wear a lot of sequins and learn choreography and that is very hard.”

She has been dominating the charts across the world in recent weeks following the release of her new album Midnights – the year’s fastest selling album.

Nicki Minaj took the award for best song with Super Freaky Girl, along with best hip hop act.

Despite having the most nominations (seven), ex-One Direction star Harry Styles only took home one award on the night – best live performance. He wasn’t there in person to pick up his prize.

Muse took home best rock act, dedicating their album to 'people of Ukraine and the women in Iran'
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Muse took home best rock act, dedicating their album to ‘people of Ukraine and the women in Iran’

Best rock act went to Muse, who opened the ceremony with their new track Will Of The People.

Refusing to shy away from hard political truths amid the glamour of the showbiz night, lead singer Matt Bellamy told the MTV audience: “We’d love to dedicate this whole album to the people of Ukraine and the women in Iran who are fighting for their freedom as we celebrate tonight.”

Gorillaz – fronted by Blur star Damon Albarn – took best alternative band, while Sam Smith took video for good.

It was also a good night for K-pop, with South Korean boyband Seventeen taking best new act and best push, Blackpink taking best metaverse performance (the second new category of the night), and one of the band’s members, Lisa, taking best K-pop act, and BTS taking biggest fans.

Best Latin performer went to Anitta and best R&B to US star Chloe.

The MTV EMAs 2022 was broadcast live on MTV on Sunday 13 November. You can watch the full 2022 MTV EMA show from 14 November on Paramount+ UK

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Los Angeles fires: Hanks, Affleck, Witherspoon and Star Wars legend among stars evacuated as fires spread

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Los Angeles fires: Hanks, Affleck, Witherspoon and Star Wars legend among stars evacuated as fires spread

Hollywood celebrities are among thousands of people to have been evacuated from their homes as fires rip through areas of Los Angeles.

Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner reported that Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck and Reese Witherspoon were all evacuated on Tuesday as wildfires continued to spread in the Pacific Palisades suburb of LA.

The blaze spreading there is one of four raging in California.

Follow latest: At least two killed as flames spread

The US flag flies as flames from the Palisades Fire engulf a structure during a windstorm on the west of Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters
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The US flag flies as flames from the Palisades Fire engulf a structure during a windstorm on the west of Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters

A wildfire-ravaged property in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Pic: AP
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A wildfire-ravaged property in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Pic: AP

The area, which is home to billionaires as well as Hollywood A-listers, is located between Santa Monica and Malibu.

Other celebrities who have fled their homes include the award-winning actor James Woods, who said last night he had been safely evacuated from his home in Pacific Palisades.

But he added in a post on X: “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”

Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, also posted on social media last night saying he evacuated his home in Malibu and his family were “fleeing for our lives”.

This Is Us actress Mandy Moore was also forced to leave her home due to the fires.

She said in two Instagram stories she had fled the Eaton fire, which is raging near Altadena, with her children, cats and dog. They have found temporary refuge with friends.

The actress said: “Trying to shield the kids from the immense sadness and worry I feel.

“Praying for everyone in our beautiful city. So gutted for the destruction and loss. Don’t know if our place made it.”

Mark Hamill and Mandy Moore. File Pics: Reuters
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Mark Hamill and Mandy Moore fled their homes. File Pics: Reuters

Ben Affleck Reese Witherspoon Tom Hanks
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Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon and Ben Affleck were all evacuated from their homes. Pics: AP

According to Velvet Ropes, which maps celebrity properties, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Matt Damon, Steven Spielberg, Hilary Swank and Sally Field all have homes close to where fires are raging.

Dr Dre, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Tyra Banks, Martin Short, Anna Faris, Milo Ventimiglia, Linda Cardellini, Mary McDonnell, Adam Sandler, Miles Teller, and Jennifer Love Hewitt are also said to have houses in affected areas.

The Palisades Fire burns a Christmas tree inside a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Pic: AP
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The Palisades Fire burns a Christmas tree inside a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Pic: AP

The skyline of Los Angeles covered with smoke due to wildfires raging in the area. Pic: Reuters
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The skyline of Los Angeles covered with smoke due to wildfires raging in the area. Pic: Reuters

In neighbouring Malibu, which was also affected by fires in December, stars including Beyonce and Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish are said to be among the celebrity residents.

The Palisades blaze has already burnt through more than 11,000 acres of land while the Eaton one has caused the death of two people, Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone said on Wednesday.

The two other fires are known as Woodley and Hurst, after the main areas affected.

All four blazes are still growing, Mr Marrone said.

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Star of The Hills and Made In Chelsea says family’s homes have burnt down in LA wildfires

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Star of The Hills and Made In Chelsea says family's homes have burnt down in LA wildfires

A reality TV personality known for appearing on shows like The Hills and Made In Chelsea has told Sky News her family have lost their homes in the California wildfires.

Stephanie Pratt, a model and the sister of fellow reality TV celebrity Spencer Pratt, lives in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, where more than 30,000 people have fled their homes due to the fast-moving blaze.

Los Angeles fire chief Anthony Marrone said on Wednesday that the Palisades fire is still growing and that “well over 5,000 acres” have been burnt.

At least two people have been killed so far, with around 1,000 buildings destroyed.

Follow latest: Two killed in LA wildfires

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House surrounded by flames during wildfire

A firefighter shields their face as the Palisades Fire burns down a home in Los Angeles. Pic: AP
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The flames burning down a home in Los Angeles. Pic: AP

The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
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Some of the damage after the wildfire. Pic: AP

California governor Gavin Newsom earlier declared a state of emergency over the four wildfires in the south of the state.

Speaking to Sky News from London, an emotional Ms Pratt said: “It’s just so crazy, I had no idea what was happening.

“I talked to my dad yesterday and he said ‘The Palisades is burning’. He said that he was at my brother’s house on Chautauqua [Boulevard] and they were just watching the flames come.

“The firefighters came and said you got to leave.”

Former Made in Chelsea star Stephanie Pratt on her brother who has lost his home in the wildfires.
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Former Made In Chelsea star Stephanie Pratt speaking to Sky News

Map showing wildfires in California.
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Map showing wildfires in California.

‘I don’t know if my house is there’

Ms Pratt said her parents and brother Spencer, who like her starred in the reality series The Hills, were safely evacuated from the area.

However, the 38-year-old added that “all of the phones are disconnected” and that she doesn’t know what had happened to her home.

“I talked to my neighbour last night and she told me that [Palisades Charter High School] had burnt down, and that’s directly behind me, and so had Gelson’s Supermarket which is adjacent,” she said.

“I just can’t reach anyone to see if my house is okay. I just Googled it and it said that it’s destroyed and terrible… I don’t know if my house is there.”

Read more:
Terrifying firestorm tears through film stars’ homes
Why are there wildfires in January?

Reality TV personality Stephanie Pratt in 2010. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Reality TV personality Stephanie Pratt in 2010. Pic: Reuters

‘This is where they raised their kids’

When she asked her dad about Spencer, 41, who is married to 38-year-old Heidi Montag – another co-star of The Hills – Ms Pratt said he told her “I’ve never seen him like this”.

“I’m assuming he’s just completely catatonic,” she added. “We don’t care about the material things or anything like that, but this was their family home.

“This is where they raised their two little kids.”

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008. Pic: Reuters
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Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008. Pic: Reuters

The Palisades fire is one of five blazes currently burning in southern California – evacuation orders were in place on Tuesday in Altadena after another fire, called the Eaton fire, started near a nature preserve.

A third blaze, called the Hurst fire, also ripped through Sylmar in the north of the city.

And according to the state department Cal Fire, two more blazes – the Woodley fire in Los Angeles and Tyler fire in Riverside – broke out on Wednesday.

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School Of Rock wedding: Co-stars marry decades after first meeting on set of film

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School Of Rock wedding: Co-stars marry decades after first meeting on set of film

Two School Of Rock co-stars, who met at the age of 10, have got married.

Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli, who played Marta and Frankie respectively in the 2003 classic alongside Jack Black, tied the knot in New York on Saturday.

The couple brought some of the original cast of the film, which centres on a pretend substitute teacher turning a group of musically gifted school children into a rock band, together to celebrate their nuptials.

Posting on Instagram, Hale, 33, shared various images of the day, including a photobooth picture with a handful of their former cast mates.

The former actress, who now works as a sonographer, wrote under the post: “Special thank you to everyone who contributed to an unforgettable day!”

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Andrew Schwartz/Paramount/Scott Rudin Prods/Mfp/New Century/Sor Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

School Of Rock - 2003
Maryam Hussan, Cuitlin Hale, Jack Black

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Caitlin Hale (middle) with Maryam Hussan and Jack Black. Pic: Andrew Schwartz/Paramount/Scott Rudin Prods/Mfp/New Century/Sor Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

Rivkah Reyes, who played bass player Katie in the film, also posted about the wedding, sharing a video on TikTok.

The clip, set to Stevie Nicks’s Edge Of Seventeen, included cameos from Brian Falduto, who played Billy, Joey Gaydos Jr, who played Zack, and Aleisha Allen, who played Alicia, among others.

The use of the song was a nod to one of the scenes from the film where Black and Joan Cusack, who plays headteacher Rosalie Mullins, sing the song in a bar.

“Celebrating the marriage of Caitlin & Angelo with my forever fam #schoolofrock #wedding,” Reyes wrote alongside the video, which showed them all dancing together.

After appearing together in the film the only contact Hale and Massagli had was through a WhatsApp chat set up with the entire cast, according to The New York Times.

The pair then both left show business and coincidentally reconnected while studying in schools in Florida.

Massagli, 32, who now works as a lawyer for TikTok, according to The Times, told the paper the familiarity they both had due to working together when they were younger “cut through some of those early relationship hurdles”.

The couple got engaged in June 2023.

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