Guys, we beg y’all! STOP DOING THIS!!!
Taylor Swift donated $5 million this week to the hurricane relief effort. Feeding America announced she made the sizable donation to “help communities rebuild and recover” and “provide essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by the devastating storms.” It’s a move that should be applauded, right?
Most fans did cheer on the move, but others just immediately went to a sour place. Here’s the charity’s public thank you note:
Thank you, @taylorswift13, for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and helping communities in need in the wake of #HurricaneHelene and #HurricaneMilton.
???? Join Taylor if you're able by donating here: https://t.co/rSpfqPuHCv pic.twitter.com/NYJIIG3dlS
— Feeding America (@FeedingAmerica) October 9, 2024
In response to that announcement, but a few gave her crap about it. Why? For a billionaire, that donation of $5 mil wasn’t enough in their estimation. One wrote it was just for “good publicity” while others tried to do the math:
“For reference this is the equivalent of me (a teacher) donating five cents so let’s not act like she’s making a sacrifice”
“This is not even .5 percent of Taylor Swift’s wealth.”
“I wonder what she’s saving the other 99.97 per cent of her $1.6 billion [net] worth for. Something more important than poor people, surely”
“For context, this is like someone with $1,000 net worth donating $5. Or if you had a $100,000 net worth (owned a home, 401k, etc.) and you donated $500. In other words, not that impressive.”
OK, first off… Someone with literally only $1,000 to their name donating $5 to others in need would be impressive. Just sayin’. And we’re not talking about this being all of her charitable donations, this is ONE CAUSE. Of many to which she donates. Jeez, there’s just no pleasing some people.
Related: Princess Catherine Makes Surprise Visit To Victims Of Taylor Swift Dance Class Attack
The most important point we want to make is…
DON’T ATTACK PEOPLE FOR DONATING TO CHARITY!
You know who’s not getting attacked right now? The many people with millions who are quietly NOT donating. These folks may mean well, but they’re creating negative incentive here. They’re discouraging people from donating at all. Think about it — if NOT donating at all doesn’t hurt your reputation, but donating might cause bad PR when everyone gets annoyed it wasn’t enough… you’re signaling to celebs not to bother! Tay is probably going to give what she’s going to anyway, ignoring the haters. But think about the other celebs who see this backlash? What are they going to do? Their teams are going to tell them to keep their heads down and DON’T DONATE!
You want more donations? Stop giving people crap when they donate!
Speaking of which, Tay’s friends were clearly more inspired by her example than the Debbie Downers on Twitter. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively followed her lead and donated $1 million.
We extend our most sincere gratitude to @blakelively & @VancityReynolds for their $1 million donation. Their support of Feeding America will help people impacted by Hurricanes Helene & Milton rebuild and recover.
Join Blake and Ryan & donate if you can at https://t.co/5HVZJRYUj4 pic.twitter.com/MYLa3NBAW8
— Feeding America (@FeedingAmerica) October 10, 2024
Now cue the folks complaining that’s not enough, right? Sigh…
[Image via Nicky Nelson/MEGA/WENN.]