A few weeks ago, a video of Texas man Gary Estes buying and immediately smashing what was reportedly a Taylor Swift-signed guitar at an auction quickly went viral.
At the time, Estes paid $4,000 to win the auction. Now, it turns out that the guitar – broken pieces and all – has since gone under the hammer again – this time selling for $6,500 on eBay – with the noble aim of supporting agricultural education for local youth.
Estes had purchased the allegedly autographed acoustic guitar at a charity fundraiser held on September 28 at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, TX.
In the viral video, he promptly walked to the podium, took a hammer, and smashed the instrument. He later told NBC that the act was meant as a joke. “There was nothing malicious or anything about it,” he asserted.
“It was just a joke at an auction that we had to raise money for kids, right? And that's all it was. There was nothing mean about it, nothing bad about it.”
The event’s auctioneer Craig Meier told NBC that he had spoken with Estes and confirmed it was an obvious political statement.
“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,” said Meier.
Now Estes has since donated the smashed instrument back to the nonprofit, with the eBay description reading: “Man bought this signed Taylor Swift Guitar at a charity auction for $4000, then proceeded to smash it with a hammer. The video went viral on multiple platforms worldwide.
“He has donated the guitar back to the foundation to be sold on eBay, with proceeds going to local kids that need the resources to participate in agriculture educational programs.”
The listing was then updated on October 3, 2024 to read:
"Is it an authentic signature....Yes. Is it on the guitar....Yes. Is this the viral video guitar that was a smash hit at an auction in Texas on Sept.28th.....Hell Yes. Are the proceeds of this sale going to a nonprofit called the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner....Yes"
In other Taylor Swift news, in a Guitar World exclusive, Gibson has recently released the list of guitars Swift has been using during her Eras tour.
