Taylor Swift has been smashing records in the music world — with her “Eras” Tour becoming the highest-grossing in history — as well as in the collectibles space, with prices for items such as signed CDs, cards and more selling for thousands.
But the script was flipped during an auction in Texas after a man paid $4,000 for a Taylor Swift-signed guitar, only to immediately smash it to smithereens with a hammer in a video that went viral this week.
The man, identified as Gary Estes, told NBC “there was nothing malicious” about the stunt, which was picked up by TMZ over the weekend. Saying it was “just a joke at an auction” to raise money for kids, Estes said “[t]here was nothing mean about it, nothing bad about it.”
According to the auctioneer, Craig Meier, the guitar smashing was a clear political statement, telling NBC it was “just a light-hearted bit of a dig at Taylor for coming out politically, and entertainers using their influence to influence politics.”
Swift endorsed Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris earlier this month.
Estes admitted as much to NBC, responding to questions regarding the political relevance by saying, “Yes, you can connect the dots there.”
Last month, a lot of 40 Swift-signed “Folklore” CDs sold for nearly $6,000, and a signed shirt from 2007 went for over $4,500.
Back in April, the musician’s de facto rookie card, in which she appears next to Kanye West in 2011 Topps American Pie, sold for $6,255 for a rare parallel in PSA 9 condition — a record for the card.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.