Texas Man Smashes A Taylor Swift-Signed Guitar With A Hammer After Paying $4000 For It At An Auction As ‘A Joke’

Gary Estes said he spent $4,000 to smash a guitar autographed by Taylor Swift as “a joke.”

On Saturday, Estes paid for the instrument at an auction during the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas. This annual charity event benefits agricultural-based education efforts for local youths.

When he went to get the autographed guitar, he took a hammer to it in a moment caught on video that has gone viral. 

Despite his actions, he soon insisted he has no ill will against Swift.

“There was nothing malicious or anything about it,” he 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. 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 charity event who acquired the guitar in the summer, said that 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,” Meier recounted. “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 Estes, the auctioneer stated 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,” he claimed.

On September 11, the singer endorsed the V.P., leading to people like X CEO Elon Musk offering her a child.

Meier stated that the dinner and auction made almost $250,000.

Some of the 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 over $4,000.

Swift never owned or played the destroyed guitar.

According to Meier, she usually signs items distributed to charitable causes.

“At the end of the day, thank you, Taylor Swift,” he stated. “Whether he hung your guitar on the wall or whether he hit it with a hammer, it really doesn’t make any difference. At 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.”