A Taylor Swift Cardboard Cutout In the U.K. Is Getting Auctioned for Charity
A life-sized cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift became a popular fixture in Cornbrook, England, as it was on display of an apartment building near the Metrolink stop since 2017.
However, the apartment owner Red Redmond is moving out and now auctioning the affectionately called “Tram Taylor,” for a good cause. In memory of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, a transgender girl who was stabbed to death in February in Culcheth Linear Park, proceeds for the sale will go to Mermaids, a British charity and advocacy organization that supports gender variant and transgender youth.
Redmond told BBC that Ghey’s death had a “big impact” on them, which is what inspired the decision to auction the cut-out.
Swift hasn’t publicly revealed if she’s aware of the auction, but the star is known for responding to fans. Last week, the superstar made a young Swiftie’s dream come true during The Eras tour stop in Las Vegas, when a seven-year-old named Bella set out on a mission to send her favorite singer a letter.
Her mother, Gina Lanzino, detailed the situation on TikTok. Upon arriving to the venue, Lanzino explained that Bella got an opening to have her letter delivered to Swift when she approached an usher, who agreed to try his best and deliver the note. Then, during the show, Bella and her mother receive a major update.
“We were about halfway through the show when some people came to our box and they were asking for Bella. I had actually forgot about the letter by that time, and I said, ‘That’s my daughter, what’s going on?’ And they say, ‘We wanted to give this to you,’ and it was the letter Bella gave to Taylor and she [Taylor] signed it. She [Bella] did write her section number on the back, but I really didn’t ever in a million years think that this was going to get returned to her. They filmed my daughter getting the letter back because they wanted to pass it back to Taylor.”
Rania Aniftos
Billboard