Taylor Swift has always inspired big feelings in listeners, for better or for worse. It’s kind of her entire brand. Whether you’re camping out overnight for her billion-dollar Eras Tour or penning heated online diatribes about how she’s “ruining football,” you likely have formed an opinion on the “Fortnight” singer. Recently, a North Texas man went viral after it was originally reported that he spent $4,000 on a Taylor Swift-inspired guitar—and then immediately took a hammer to it.
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The Internet Reacts to Texas Man Destroying Alleged Taylor Swift Guitar
The Ellis County Wild Game Dinner is a non-profit organization that raises money to benefit youth agricultural education in Ellis County, Texas.
Video footage captured during an auction held by the group Saturday (Sept. 28) in Waxahachie, Texas shows a North Texas man walking to the stage after seemingly purchasing a guitar decorated in the style of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Accepting a hammer from a man who was assisting the auctioneer, the winning bidder grabs the guitar and immediately smashes it. Off camera, many audience members erupt into applause.
The video spread across multiple social media platforms, drawing praise and criticism in equal measure. Some X/Twitter posts declared the man a “legend” for pummeling a Taylor Swift guitar. Others pointed out that the money could have benefited an important cause, especially in light of Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on Appalachia.
“Imagine spending $4k on a guitar when there’s literally an emergency situation on the east coast,” one X/Twitter user wrote. “That $4K could have help a lot of other people instead of some collector.”
Gesture Was Meant as “A Lighthearted Statement,” Spokesperson Says
Ellis County Wild Game spokesman Craig Meier told Dallas-Fort Worth news outlet WFAA that Taylor Swift has never used the guitar. Variety is also reporting that the 14-time GRAMMY winner never signed the instrument, despite initial reports that she did.
Meier added that the stunt “wasn’t meant to be mean or malicious.” He added that the $4,000 will directly benefit local youth and agricultural education programs
[RELATED: Taylor Swift Donates $1 Million to Hometown for Tornado Relief: “She Has Their Backs”]
“He was just making a lighthearted statement showing disapproval of people in the entertainment industry trying to influence politics,” the spokesman said.
(Taylor Swift has publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.)
Featured image by CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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