There were more splinters than teardrops left on a Taylor Swift-autographed guitar after a Texas man smashed it apart as “a joke” — after paying thousands for it at auction, the man said Tuesday.
Gary Estes, 67, says he paid $4,000 for the instrument at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, an annual charity event that benefits agricultural-based education efforts for local youths.
When he came to get the guitar, Estes took a hammer to it in a moment captured on video that’s now gone viral — but insisted he has no will will against Swift.
“There was nothing malicious or anything about it,” Estes told NBC News on Tuesday. “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. It was just a joke that they were making up on the stage, and we just followed through with a joke.”
Auctioneer Craig Meier, a spokesperson for the event, said the guitar smashing played well in the room.
“It was a funny, light-hearted thing. I know maybe it seemed to be malicious, but everybody was laughing,” said Meier. “There were people there, at the time, who joked around that he’s mad because he doesn’t know how to play the guitar.”
But after talking to the man, Meier said 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,” Meier said.
Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 11, leading to bad blood with GOP nominee Donald Trump who sees her as an anti-hero.
Trump carried Ellis County with 66.19% of the vote in 2020, while the winner, Joe Biden and his VP pick Harris, got 32.17%.
Estes, who owns an electrical wiring business, said he’s a supporter of Trump and wasn’t pleased with Swift’s endorsement of Harris.
“Yes, you can connect the dots there,” Estes said.
The dinner and auction made about $250,000, Meier said.
Auctioned items included weapons, big game hunting experiences, food and the “hot mama package” — a day of pampering at a day spa and a Smith & Wesson .380 that went for more than $4,000.
The smashed guitar was never owned or played by Swift.
Swift, like many other celebrities, regularly signs items that are distributed to charitable causes, said Meier, who procured the guitar this past summer.
“At the end of the day, thank you, Taylor Swift,” Meier said. “Whether he hung your guitar on the wall or whether he hit it with a hammer, it really doesn’t make any difference. In the end of the day, the kids are the ones that are going to benefit from it. I don’t care if he set it on fire, put it in a shrine in his house, he paid $4,000 for it.”
Representatives for Swift and the political group “Swifties for Kamala” — a grassroots organization not officially affiliated with the artist — could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Swift is now on a brief hiatus from her record breaking Eras Tour, which is slated to come to an end in December.
The final show, as of now, is set for Dec. 8 at BC Place in Vancouver.
