The Taylor Swift Guitar-Smashing Drama, Explained
There are many critics of Taylor Swift out there. Even fellow musicians have weighed in. For instance, Zach Bryan tweeted that Kanye West was better and reopened Swifties' old wounds. (West interrupted Swift's VMAs speech back in 2009. Bryan later profusely apologized for his comments and walked back the sentiment.) One anti-Swiftie thought taking a hammer to an auction item was the best way to make his point about disliking Swift.
On September 28, 2024, the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner auction event took place, and one of the items up for grabs was a guitar decorated with images of Swift throughout her career — which Swifties will recognize as the art from her Eras Tour. A video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed an unnamed man being handed the guitar and a hammer from someone seemingly working the event. Then, the man hit the instrument repeatedly with the hammer, to the cheers and laughter of the crowd.
A source from the organization hosting the event told TMZ the guitar was given for the auction prior to Swift endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 election. They also told the outlet the guitar was autographed by Swift, proven by a certificate of authenticity, and that the man who broke it did successfully win it at the auction before doing so. Another news outlet spoke to some others from the event.
Was the guitar really signed by Swift?
The man who filmed the video of the guitar destruction, JD Cobb, spoke to Texas' WFAA news network. "I see the guy grab a hammer off the stage," he said. "When I started video-ing it, I thought it was a joke." Craig Meier, spokesperson for the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner, told the outlet how the man spent about $4,000 to win the guitar, and that it was signed by Taylor Swift but had never been played by her.
"It has been surprising to me how big of a deal people are making it out to be," Meier said. "It wasn't meant to be mean or malicious. He was just making a lighthearted statement showing disapproval of people in the entertainment industry trying to influence politics." Meier also mentioned how event attendees loved it. "At the end of the day, the kids win and will benefit from this," Meier added, since the all the event's funds were going to Future Farmers of America.
However, the claims of the guitar's authenticity were disproven by an insider for Variety with ties to Swift's merch company. The source told the outlet how in addition to not being a guitar Swift had played, the now-ruined guitar wasn't actually autographed by her. Instead, it came with an autographed CD insert. It doesn't seem like the man who ruined the guitar has spoken about it, but whether the decision was political or not, it seems it was a waste of energy. Is it possible the smashed guitar will spark new rumors of a "Reputation (Taylor's Version)" album release?