Texas man reveals why he spent $4,000 to smash a Taylor Swift guitar with a hammer

A Texas man who was criticized for making a governmental connection aft he spent $4,000 astatine an auction to smash a Taylor Swift guitar said helium meant it arsenic a joke.

Gary Estes, 67, was captured connected camera walking up to person the instrumentality astatine the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner successful Waxahachie connected Saturday.

Once helium was handed the guitar, Estes went to enactment and smashed it gleefully with a hammer arsenic the assemblage burst into laughter. 

But his reasoning, helium insists, was not malicious. 

The meal is an yearly foundation lawsuit that benefits agricultural-based acquisition efforts for section younker - which Estes deemed the due clip to acceptable his gag into motion. 

He told NBC News: 'It was conscionable a gag astatine an auction that we had to rise wealth for kids, right? And that's each it was. 

'There was thing mean astir it, thing atrocious astir it. It was conscionable a gag that they were making up connected the stage, and we conscionable followed done with a joke.'

The auctioneer Craig Meier said it was a spot that 'played good successful the room'.

But Meier did uncover that it was an evident governmental connection that dug into Taylor Swift for politically endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris connected September 11. 

He expanded his reply to NBC News, saying it was a commentary connected entertainers utilizing their power to sway politics. 

'Like galore of you, I watched the statement tonight. If you haven’t already, present is simply a large clip to bash your probe connected the issues astatine manus and the stances these candidates instrumentality connected the topics that substance to you the most. As a voter, I marque definite to ticker and work everything I tin astir their projected policies and plans for this country,' Swift wrote.

'Recently I was made alert that AI of "me" falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s statesmanlike tally was posted to his site. It truly conjured up my fears astir AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.

'It brought maine to the decision that I request to beryllium precise transparent astir my existent plans for this predetermination arsenic a voter. The simplest mode to combat misinformation is with the truth,' she added.

An alleged listing of the smashed Taylor Swift guitar has been listed connected Ebay. The authenticity of the guitar has been heavy contested aft a root adjacent to her merch institution confirmed to Variety.

The listing presently is astatine $2,550 with 23 bids. 

A photograph statement successful the listing states Estes supposedly donated the guitar backmost to the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner and that the merchantability proceeds volition beryllium enactment the non-profits archetypal extremity of giving backmost to cultivation education.