A man bought a guitar autographed by Taylor Swift for $4,000 at a charity auction in Texas, then gleefully took to it with a hammer as the crowd cheered.
The unidentified snowy-haired buyer buyer sauntered up to the stage after winning his bid, collecting the instrument and hammer from the emcee, then started smashing. His message was unclear and his motive unknown, but he seemed to be having fun and looked pleased.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump cackled, while Swifties shrugged. People on both sides of the political divide assumed the smash act was related to the singer’s recent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president, but auction organizers told TMZ it had been donated before Swift made her announcement.
“Who wants to bet that this idiot who paid $4,000 to destroy a Taylor Swift guitar whines about the price of eggs,” one social media tweet suggested.
“How many commemorative Trump coins do you think the guy who destroyed the $4,000 Taylor Swift guitar owns?” wondered Mike Nellis, co-organizer of White Dudes for Harris, and a former advisor to the VP. “Because it ain’t zero.”
Conservatives clapped back, saying the buyer had every right to do what he wanted with the guitar.
“That sounded much better than any of her music,” one tweet stated.
Swift had not commented by Monday evening. She is busy getting ready for the final leg of her Eras Tour, Billboard reported.
The auction and spectacle took place at the Ellis County Wildgame Dinner, raising funds for a non-profit organization based in Bardwell, Texas, that supports agricultural education for local youth, according to its website. It’s about 45 miles south of Dallas. It was donated by a third party and came with a certificate of authenticity, TMZ reported, noting destroying the guitar was not part of the donor’s plan.