Man who smashed Taylor Swift guitar with hammer at Texas auction explains why he did it

The Texas man who smashed up 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 auction staff was waiting with the instrument, which was covered in images of Swift from her record-breaking Eras Tour.

He then proceeded to take the guitar, which he had bid $4,000 for, and smash the surface of the instrument with a hammer to the sound of cheers from the audience.

The event, which took place in Ellis County, Texas, was a fundraiser set up to support agricultural education for local youth. The guitar, which came with a “certificate of authenticity”, was one of a number of items being auctioned along with tickets to see artists including Chris Stapleton and George Strait, and a trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Speaking to NBC News on Tuesday (1 October), Estes said there was “nothing malicious” about the stunt and he had intended 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 kids, right?” he said. “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, initially backed Estes’s remarks: “It was a funny, light-hearted thing,” he said. “I know maybe it seemed to be malicious, but everybody was laughing. There were people there [who] joked around that he’s mad because he doesn’t know how to play the guitar.”

However, Meier told the news website that, after speaking with Estes, he