TAYLOR Swift’s guitar has gone up for sale on eBay, despite being smashed to pieces just days ago.
The instrument, which gained viral attention this week after being battered by its buyer, is now up for auction online.
Initially purchased at a charity auction for $4,000, the buyer, 67-year-old Gary Estes, attacked it with a hammer, reportedly in protest of the singer’s political stance.
The incident occurred at the Ellis County WildGame Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas, and was captured on video, sparking widespread social media attention.
The listing describes the piece of memorabilia as being signed, claiming it was purchased at auction and subsequently damaged.
It is emphasised that proceeds from the sale will support local youth agricultural education programs.
The auction for the damaged guitar began with a $100 minimum bid, which had climbed to $2,600 by late Tuesday, with just under a week remaining.
When the guitar was first sold, a certificate of authenticity was provided, stating that it had been signed by Taylor, though it reportedly lacked the usual seal seen on such documents.
However, according to Variety, a source from her merchandising team later clarified that the guitar had not been signed by the singer and was not an official piece of her merchandise.
Despite this, photos from the listing appear to show an autograph.
The viral video showed Gary smashing the guitar as the crowd cheered.
Auctioneer Craig Meier encouraged him, saying, “Now take that and hang up that busted thing.”
In a later interview with NBC News, Gary explained that the stunt was intended as a joke, saying: “It was just a joke at an auction that we had to raise money for kids, right? And that’s all it was.”
Craig added: “It was a funny, light-hearted thing. I know maybe it seemed to be malicious, but everybody was laughing. There were people there, at the time, who joked around that he’s mad because he doesn’t know how to play the guitar.”
Though, he did acknowledge that there had been some political undertones, given Taylor’s endorsement of Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Rob Bartley, an attendee at the event, told The Independent: “A Taylor Swift guitar had sold at another event unrelated to this earlier in the year, so it wasn’t an unheard of type of item to auction.
“That said… when the man announced his intention to smash it the camera phones came out. It was unexpected, but not surprising. This part of Texas leans heavily conservative and the Biden/Harris administration isn’t held in high regard.
“A lot of the working class people that live around me feel that the administration gone from not working for us to working against us.”
TMZ previously reported that the guitar was donated prior to Taylor’s endorsement of Kamala, without intent for it to be destroyed.
The U.S. Sun revealed last month that Taylor was ready to endorse Harris once the blockbuster European leg of her Eras tour ended.
According to an insider, President Joe Biden’s camp desperately wanted her to rescue his faltering push for a second term before the Democrats pulled the plug on his campaign in July and pivoted to Harris.
But with Taylor, who backed Biden in 2020, enjoying some downtime before she started performing again in North America, she readily took the opportunity to post a message of endorsement on Instagram just moments after her contentious debate with Trump in Philadelphia.
“She felt she needed to speak out as the election process is getting more intense,” the well-placed source told us.
“The time just felt right.”
The insider confirmed Taylor had spoken to Harris “a couple of times on the phone” lately and knows exactly how significant the build-up to polling day on November 5 is for every American.
“Taylor is very aware of the problems, issues, and struggles that many people go through in the country,” continued the source. “She thinks Kamala is the only option to help create a better society and America for everyone.”
Her scathing takedown of Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who sparked outrage with his now infamous “childless cat ladies” jibe, spread like wildfire on social media less than an hour after the often fiery debate concluded.
Trump, who dubbed his performance “his best debate ever,” surprisingly repeated wild conspiracy theories about immigrants eating dogs and cats in Ohio, with Harris riling the 78-year-old about his criminal convictions handed down to him earlier this year.
Taylor has nailed her political allegiances to the mast during previous elections.
Taylor Swift is gearing up to throw her support behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz's campaign, a source exclusively disclosed to The U.S. Sun.
The pop superstar has been keeping fans guessing as to who she will endorse in the upcoming November election. But, now, The U.S Sun has learned Taylor will endorse Harris “4 to 6 weeks” before election day.
Taylor Swift’s ties to Democrats:
But with the race becoming nail-bitingly close, and knowing the influence she has over her millions of fans, the time was right to make a stand against Trump’s push for a return to the Oval Office.
“It is very important for her to voice her opinion and show support for who she thinks will be best for the country, and she is very proud and excited for Kamala Harris to have the possibility to become the next president and that woman can be in this position,” said the source.
“Taylor is an artist that wants to be engaged socially, to speak about causes that she values a lot and that has a lot that she likes on Kamala Harris’s vision and perspectives for America.”
The Shake It Off star wrote to her 283 million followers on Instagram that she not only did she back Harris for the White House, but laid bare her anger at AI tools “falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site.”
“It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she wrote.
“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
