Bebe Rexha Says Taylor Swift Reached Out After Designers Refused To Dress Her for 2019 Grammys

Bebe Rexha said Taylor Swift reached out after designers refused to dress her for the 2019 Grammys, recalling the support at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, 27 September 2026.

Rexha had said designers would not make her a gown because of her size. Speaking on the red carpet, she said Swift's response made her feel she belonged.

Swift's Support for Bebe Rexha

The entertainment outlet asked the 'Meant to Be' singer what the 14-time Grammy winner's support for women in the music industry had meant to her as an independent artist. Rexha recalled her team's attempts to find a designer dress for the ceremony and the support she later received from Swift.

'I remember when I had that whole Grammys situation when I couldn't find a dress and she reached out to me because we're the same age, and I thought that was really, really kind of her,' Rexha said.

'Nobody really reached out,' she said. 'Some people did, but for her at such a high level to make me feel like I belonged was really, really nice.'

Swift received the first inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors at this year's VMAs. According to a press release, the award recognises music artists whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music videos and advanced visual storytelling.

Bebe Rexha Challenges Dress Refusals

Rexha had been nominated for Best New Artist and Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 2019 Grammys. In an Instagram video that has since been deleted, she explained how preparations for the ceremony had become difficult.

'So I finally get nominated at the Grammys and it's like the coolest thing ever,' she said. She explained in her video that artists often ask designers to make custom dresses for red carpet appearances.

Her team had approached designers in the hope of securing a gown for the Grammys, she said, only to find that a number of them would not make one for someone of her size. Rexha said she wore a size 6-8. She challenged the refusals by arguing that the message extended to other women who wore a size 8 or above.

'You're saying all the women in the world that are a size 8 and up are not beautiful and that they cannot wear your dresses,' she said. She also said she did not want dresses from designers who had turned her down, rejecting the suggestion that her size should determine whether she could wear their clothes.

In the accompanying caption, Rexha distinguished objections to her work or personal style from refusals based on her body. 'If you don't like my fashion style or my music that's one thing. But don't say you can't dress someone that isn't a runway size,' she wrote.

Rexha urged designers to encourage women to love their bodies and stop making girls and women feel diminished by their size. 'We are beautiful any size! Small or large!' she wrote in the caption.

'You are beautiful! Every woman of every size is beautiful! Just let me know when I should start sketching.' Designer August Getty replied to the Instagram post, offering to make her a gown for the Grammys.