Who knew donating money to charity could make so many people angry?
Taylor Swift has somehow managed to enrage some people online after donating millions for hurricane relief.
Florida has been dealing with the fallout of both Hurricane Helene and most recently Hurricane Milton, both leaving devastation in some communities.
This will obviously mean difficult times ahead, for many and a desperate need for rebuilding and supplies for those in need.
So, you would think a massive donation would be well-received – well, seemingly not if it’s from Taylor Swift.
On October 9, the CEO of Feeding America, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, issued a statement to thank the popstar for her contribution of $5 million dollars to the charity.
Many Swifties thanked Taylor for the donation (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
The statement read: “We’re incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous $5 million donation to Hurricanes Helene and Milton relief efforts.
“This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms.
“Together, we can make a real impact on supporting families as they navigate the challenges ahead. Thank you Taylor for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and for helping communities in need.”
Swiftie or not, you would expect most people would be happy with the music star helping out.
But some argued that given Swift’s a status as a billionaire, she should have donated significantly more.
Writing on Twitter, one person commented: “Well it’s a start. She is a billionaire. 5 million is like $10 to most of us.”
“This is just nonsense. The only reason she’s doing this is to improve her image after her terrible support of KH. She’s trying to distract everyone from her past mistakes and make herself look better… Lol,” another commented.
“$5 million is a lot to you or I, but to Taylor Swift it’s the equivalent of someone who earns $50k a year donating $100-150. It’s still a lovely gesture & infinitely better than nothing, but not a massive sacrifice,” a third wrote.
Hurricane Milton destructive force has destroyed some communities in Florida(CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
However, these comments were few and far between, with Taylor Swift fans stepping in to defend the star.
“If I see 1 person talking about how $5 million is nothing to her then you donate 5 mil,” one defender wrote.
“Say what you want about her but she donates in time of need,” someone else added.
“Swift didn’t have to donate a dime of her hard-earned money,” a third commented.
“”Anyways imagine if all billionaires did stuff like this instead of just a few,” noted another.
Featured Image Credit: Getty/Neilson Barnard/Getty/Fox Weather
Topics: Taylor Swift, Hurricane Milton, Weather, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga
Walt Disney World gets slammed by Hurricane Milton in horrifying footage
The storm crashed into Florida yesterday, displacing millions of people
As the ‘storm of the century’ rages through Florida, an adrenaline junkie who decided to remain put at Walt Disney World has recorded the resort being battered by Hurricane Milton.
The beast, which at its peak strength recorded winds of 180mph, made landfall on the Sunshine State yesterday evening (October 9) as a category three storm – with winds up to 129mph.
It has since decreased to category one, but earlier this week it reached category five – with experts even questioning whether the Saffir-Simpson Wind scale needed to be developed to include further categories.
The route Hurricane Milton made as it devastated Florida (Fox Weather)
The National Weather Service reported that at least 27 tornadoes hit the state yesterday, with one in St. Lucie County resulting in multiple deaths after it struck a retirement community.
Speaking about the devastation in the area, Sheriff Keith Pearson told CNN: “We are not going to get into how many, but I can tell you it’s more than one person who has lost their life.”
It is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, and has left more than three million people across the state without electricity.
Despite Disney announcing that the Disney World resort in Orlando would be closed on October 9 and 10, guests have still been able to take refuge in hotels on the resort – with one person capturing the footage from their hotel room.
The TikTok video shows the park being slammed by Hurricane Milton with its strong gales almost completely knocking over the many palm trees – which fortunately remained standing, or at least in the 15 second video.
Disney World told guests: “Please prepare to shelter indoors in your room or building beginning at 8:30 PM, as the storm is expected to intensify.
“The Walt Disney World theme parks, water parks, recreation offerings and Disney Springs are now closed through Thursday, October 10.”
Goldman Sachs analysts projected back on Tuesday that the likely closures and disruptions from Milton will reduce Disney’s earnings in the park division by between a whopping $150 million and $200 million this quarter.
Regardless of the danger to life, thousands of people in the state have decided to make the bold move of staying in their properties and there have been some incredible stories to come out of it – including that of Pedro Casares.
Hurricane Milton has caused widespread destruction across the state (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Florida man unconventionally strapped down his home in Orlando in a bid to stop it from being destroyed.
But the force of the hurricane was well and truly proven by the Tampa Field stadium, which had it’s roof completely ripped off.
The full extent of Hurricane Milton’s damage will be revealed today once the sun comes up.
Elsewhere, people of social media have been left relieved to learn that viral star ‘Lieutenant Dan’ survived the hurricane, despite refusing to leave his boat.
Featured Image Credit: @justthemeparks/TikTok
Topics: Hurricane Milton, Florida, Weather
Joe Yates
Mayor warns ‘you are going to die’ if residents don’t leave these Hurricane Milton evacuation areas
The Tampa mayor warned she had never seen a hurricane like this in her lifetime
The Tampa mayor has issued a stark warning for residents who are considering bunkering down and riding out the incoming hurricane.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor took to CNN on Monday night (October 7) to urge all of the residents who are in a hurricane evacuation zone to leave immediately.
This comes as Hurricane Milton is heading towards the Florida city. Milton is expected to hit Tampa Bay by Wednesday and travel east across Florida before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean.
Castor specifically addressed the people who have ridden out previous storms and said she has never seen a storm of this caliber before in her lifetime, and taking the same action for Milton could prove to be a fatal error.
She said: “I can tell you right now, that they may have done that with others but there has never been one like this. Helene was a wake up call, this is literally catastrophic.
“I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”
The mayor emphasized just how severe the situation was by adding that she had never issued such warnings in the past.
She continued: “A ten to 12 foot surge… if this takes a jog to the south that is going to save us from the storm surge but if it stays on the track that it is projected to be on right now, or if it goes a bit north, would be even worse.”
One of the predicted paths of Hurricane Milton (CNN)
For context, these surges would be twice as large as those triggered by Hurricane Helene that struck less than two weeks ago.
She continued: “Some of the predictions are saying that Pinellas County, to the south of us, the entire county is going to be under water.
“This is something I have never seen in my life and I can tell you that anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before. People need to get out.”
Scientists have warned that the upcoming Hurricane will prove particularly devastating and damaging.
The mayor was very firm in her warning for the upcoming hurricane (CNN)
As of yesterday, the hurricane has progressed to the top category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Category five is stated as seeing winds at speeds of ‘157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher)’ with ‘catastrophic damage’ occurring.
Residents all over the state have been urged to evacuate, with Florida preparing for the largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma with the state’s National Guard reported as mobilizing 5,000 troops to help get people out and planning on sending another 3,000 out before Wednesday.
Featured Image Credit: CNN/Fox Weather
Topics: Florida, US News, Weather, Hurricane Milton
Gerrard Kaonga
Experts say Hurricane Milton is set to be so powerful it could change Florida’s coastline forever
Hurricane Milton is predicted to be one of the most powerful storms to strike Florida
Hurricane Milton is expected to be wreak havoc when it hits Florida, potentially changing the coastline of the state permanently.
The US Geological Survey agency explained just how severe the storm is set to be, and the lasting impact it will have on the region.
Milton is set to strike the Sunshine state late on Wednesday evening (October 9) or early Thursday (October 10), and at least 95 percent of Florida’s west coast beaches are going to be overwhelmed or covered by ocean water when the storm makes landfall.
The government agency warned: “This is the most severe level of coastal change.”
They added that ‘Milton’s waves and surge’ could cause ‘erosion and overwash’ to all of the state’s beaches.
Hurricane Milton is expected to devastate Florida when it makes landfall (Fox Weather)
The powerful hurricane could prove to be so devastating, it could permanently change the state’s coastline, according to experts.
USGS scientist Kara Doran also stated: “The significance of the coastal change forecast for Milton’s impact to the Florida west coast cannot be overstated.”
Meteorologists and scientists have also been urging people to take the threat of the storm seriously, insisting it is one of the most powerful.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor took to CNN earlier this week to warn that those in evacuation zones that attempt to ride out the storm would die.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) progressed hurricane Milton to the top category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale earlier this week.
Category five is stated as seeing winds at speeds of ‘157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher)’, with ‘catastrophic damage’ occurring.
It details: “A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
People in evacuation zones have been warned against attempting to ride out the storm (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Monday evening, the hurricane’s winds reached 180mph – well above that of category five of the scale.
While the hurricane has since decreased to a category four, concerns are mounting it could go beyond category five once again. Due to the severity of the hurricane, there have been calls for a new scale to help categorize storms of this strength.
Speaking on social media, Professor Michael E. Mann stated: “A compelling argument has been made that a hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 192mph or greater should be considered ‘category 6’.
“There is some speculation that #Milton might have actually breached the 192 mph ‘cat 6’ cutoff. Stay tuned…”
However, Fox Weather meteorologist Mike Rawling told the Post he is not aware of any new scale being created and said, at this point, a category six is unnecessary.
Featured Image Credit: NOAA / Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Topics: Climate Change, Florida, Science, US News, Weather, Hurricane Milton
Gerrard Kaonga
Taylor Swift didn’t sign the guitar a man spent $4,000 on to destroy
A video of the man smashing the guitar went viral earlier this week
A guitar supposedly signed by Taylor Swift that was sold for $4,000 to a man who immediately smashed it was apparently not actually signed by the singer after all.
On September 28, the Ellis County WildGame Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas held an auction event for charity. Per their website page, the Ellis County WildGame Dinner describes itself as an organization committed to ‘supporting agricultural and rural education to the youth of Ellis County.’
As part of their charity auction, the organization advertised on their Facebook page that they would be auctioning off a ‘guitar autographed by country music star Taylor Swift.’
The organization advertised that they would be auctioning off a guitar allegedly signed by Swift. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
However at the event, a man reportedly bid $4,000 on the guitar, only to plough it with a hammer immediately after winning it. Video footage of the guitar’s destruction went absolutely viral online, with one video posted on Twitter earlier this week garnering over 22 million views.
Watch the viral clip below:
Omg lol!!!! Guy bought a signed Taylor Swift guitar at a live auction for $4,000, only to destroy it 🔥🔥😭😭
The plot has now thickened however as a source close to Swift’s merchandise company confirmed to HuffPost that the guitar was not signed by the singer and that it was not a certified official guitar used by her.
Moreover, the source added that an actual signed guitar by Swift would come with a certificate of authenticity, which her team reportedly doesn’t believe the auctioned guitar has.
Variety also reports that the guitar came with a signed CD insert but the instrument itself was not signed.
An actual Taylor Swift guitar for reference. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
Reactions toward the man’s guitar purchase have been divided on social media, with some of Swift’s supporters theorizing that his actions may have been politically motivated following the singer’s public endorsement of Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris.
“A grown man paying $4,000 to destroy a guitar to impress Trump is next level pathetic,” one user on Twitter wrote.
“It doesn’t affect Taylor Swift and he just lost $4,000,” another added.
“Imagine spending $4k on a guitar when there’s literally an emergency situation on the east coast,” another user said in reference to Hurricane Helene. “That $4k could have [helped] a lot of other people instead of some collector.”
Other fans noted that the guitar didn’t look real.
“The funniest part is that this [is] definitely a fake signed guitar like it has the wrong Era’s Tour logo and font I’m crying,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
UNILAD previously reached out to the Ellis County WildGame Dinner for comment.
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/jdcobb58 / Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Topics: Taylor Swift, Texas
