Taylor Swift, Post Malone claim top prize at MTV's Video Music Awards

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Taylor Swift's black-and-white video "Fortnight" featuring Post Malone won video of the year, the top honor at MTV's annual Video Music Awards, on Wednesday.

The "Fortnight" video was released in April to accompany the first single from Swift's album "The Tortured Poets Department." The video shows Swift inside a bleak hospital, a setting she said reflected what she was seeing in her head as she wrote the "Tortured Poets" songs.

"This video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was the most fun video to make," Swift said as she accepted the Moon Person statuette.

After each take, she would hear a cheer from a person across the studio.

"That one person was my boyfriend Travis," she said, referring to Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.

"Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic," she said. "I want to thank him for adding that to this shoot."

Earlier, when "Fortnight" won best collaboration, Swift praised Malone as "ridiculously talented" and "unfailingly polite."

"It has taken me forever to get him to stop calling me ma'am," she said next to Malone on stage at the UBS Arena outside New York City.

Malone returned the compliments, calling megastar Swift "absolutely one of the most kind and talented people I've ever had the honor of knowing."

Malone said he watched Swift direct the "Fortnight" video while she was strapped to an operating room table on the set. "It was pretty bad ass," he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Christian Schmollinger)