A Texas man faced backlash for making a political statement after spending $4,000 at an auction to break a Taylor Swift guitar on Saturday in Waxahachie, Texas.
A Texas man faced backlash for making a political statement after spending $4,000 at an auction to break a Taylor Swift guitar on Saturday in Waxahachie, Texas.
Gary Estes, 67, who appeared on camera approaching the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie on Saturday to receive the instrument, has now clarified that his actions were intended as a joke.
Soon after receiving the guitar, Estes proceeded to bash it with a hammer, prompting the audience to burst into laughter.
Here’s what Gary Estes has to say
Estes decided that the dinner was the ideal time to have some fun as it was a yearly fundraiser that assist agricultural-based education initiatives for local youth.
“It was just a joke at an auction that we had to raise money for kids, right? And that’s all it was,” he told NBC News
Claiming that there was “nothing bad about it,” Estes added that “we just followed through with a joke.”
The incident occurred weeks after Swift endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Texas man smashed Swift guitar as political ‘dig’: Auctioneer
Meanwhile, auctioneer Craig Meier stated that the bit was “played well in the room.”
Meier, however, acknowledged that Swift’s apparent political endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on September 11 was a clear political message.
Speaking to NBC News, he stated that it was an assessment of celebrities and entertainers who use their fame to impact political outcomes.
“Taylor Swift, it became a political thing, and that was kind of the gist of it, just a light-hearted bit of a dig at Taylor for coming out politically and entertainers using their influence to influence politics,” Meier noted.
Taylor Swift team breaks silence after guitar listed on eBay
Later, the damaged guitar was listed on eBay with the tagline, “Man bought this signed Taylor Swift Guitar at a charity auction for $4000, then proceeded to smash it with a hammer.” The video gained widespread popularity across several global channels.
An authentication certificate that accompanied the instrument when it was first put up for auction states that “the guitar has been personally signed by Taylor Swift and is guaranteed to be authentic,” according to TMZ. However, the certificate doesn’t feature a seal, which is typically found on such documents.
Meanwhile, an insider from Swift’s merchandising group told the outlet that the listing photographs purport to show an autograph on the guitar, but the guitar was neither signed by the singer nor it came with an authenticity certificate. Therefore, the description was fake.
