Taylor Swift: Texas man who smashed guitar at auction explains why he did it

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The Texas man who smashed a supposedly “signed” Taylor Swift guitar after paying thousands for it at auction has spoken out.

In footage that went viral this week, a man identified by US media as Gary Estes, 67, was seen approaching the stage where a member of the auction staff was waiting with the instrument, which was filled with images of Swift was covered from her record-breaking era tour.

He then took the guitar for which he had bid $4,000 and, to the audience's cheers, smashed the instrument's surface with a hammer.

The event, held in Ellis County, Texas, was a fundraiser to support agricultural education for local youth. The guitar, which came with a “certificate of authenticity,” was one of several items auctioned off along with tickets to performances by artists including Chris Stapleton and George Strait and a trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Speaking to NBC News on Tuesday (October 1), Estes said there was “nothing malicious” about the stunt and that he meant it as a “joke,” while also confirming that he is a Trump supporter.

“It was just a joke at an auction that we had to raise money for children, right?” he said. “And that was all. There was nothing mean about it, nothing bad. It was just a joke that they made up on stage and we just made a joke.”

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Auctioneer Craig Meier, a spokesman for the event, initially supported Estes' comments: “It was a fun, light-hearted thing,” he said. “I know it may have seemed malicious, but everyone laughed. There were people there [who] joked about how he was crazy because he didn’t know how to play the guitar.”

However, Meier told the news website that after speaking with Estes, he was convinced it was an obvious political statement.

“Taylor Swift, it became a political thing, and that was kind of the crux of the matter, just a light-hearted dig at Taylor for coming out politically and entertainers using their influence to influence politics,” he said .

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In September, Swift expressed long-standing support for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, while taking an apparent swipe at Republican nominee Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance for his infamous “childless cat lady” comments.

A few days after Swift's post, Trump tweeted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” in an all-caps message from his Truth Social account.

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In her endorsement, Swift said fake AI-generated images suggesting she supported Trump, shared by the former president, influenced her decision to speak out.

“It was recently brought to my attention that an AI was posted on his website that showed 'I' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's candidacy for president,” she wrote.

“It really raised my fears about AI and the dangers of spreading misinformation.

“I came to the conclusion that as a voter I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election. The easiest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”

Estes told NBC he was a Trump supporter and was unhappy with Swift's support for Harris: “Yeah, you can see the connections there,” he said.

Since the incident, questions have arisen about the authenticity of the guitar. Despite the alleged certificate, sources close to Swift's merch company confirmed this diversity that the instrument was not signed by Swift.

TMZ reports that the guitar is now listed on eBay for a starting price of $100 (£75), with proceeds from the sale going to the same cause of supporting agricultural education for local youth.