Texas Man Pays $4000 For Taylor Swift Guitar In Auction Then Smashes It

A Texas man turned a Taylor Swift autographed guitar into splinters instead of music after smashing it as part of a joke at an auction. Gary Estes, 67, forked over $4,000 for the instrument during the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, an annual charity event that supports agricultural education for local kids.

Just a Light-Hearted Joke

When Estes picked up the guitar, he took a hammer to it in a viral video that left many people shocked. However, he insists that there was nothing mean-spirited about his actions. “There was nothing malicious or anything about it,” Estes told NBC News. “It was just a joke at an auction that we had to raise money for kids, right? And that’s all it was.” He emphasized that it was a playful moment stemming from a joke made on stage, not an attack on Swift.

Auctioneer Craig Meier, who was at the event, described the moment as funny and light-hearted. “I know maybe it seemed to be malicious, but everybody was laughing,” he said. Some in the audience joked that Estes was frustrated because he didn’t know how to play the guitar.

It’s Somehow a Political Statement

However, Meier later suggested that the guitar-smashing might have deeper meanings. “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,” he said. Swift had publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, which stirred up some controversy, especially among Trump supporters.

Estes, who owns an electrical wiring business, is a Trump supporter and expressed his dissatisfaction with Swift’s endorsement. “Yes, you can connect the dots there,” he acknowledged, hinting at the political undertones behind his actions. In the 2020 election, Trump won Ellis County by a large margin, making Swift’s endorsement of Harris even more provocative for some residents.