A few days ago, the Washington Post ran a story trying to encapsulate the dire economic situation millions of Americans are facing this pandemic year. With mass unemployment, people are behind in rent and utilities payments, not to mention all of the food insecurity in a cold winter around the holidays. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stalled every effort to pass another stimulus bill and thousands of people are dying everyday from a deadly virus. In the WaPo piece, several people were named and quoted as being thousands behind on rent and bills. Well, Taylor Swift read the article and she found the GoFundMe pages of two of the women quoted, and she donated $13,000 each to those women.
Taylor Swift continues to give generously. The folklore songstress recently touched the lives of two women who have been struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nikki Cornwell, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Shelbie Selewski — of Harrison Township, Michigan — were featured in a Washington Post article about shining a light on Americans who have been facing eviction, unemployment and struggling to pay their bills amid the crisis.
Evidently, Swift was moved by their difficult situations, and decided to help out by donating $13,000 to each to their GoFundMe campaigns. Swift also left a heartfelt personal message on each of the campaigns, sharing her love and support for the women.
“Shelbie, I’m sending you this gift after reading about you in the Washington Post,” Swift wrote to Selewski’s GoFundMe page. “No one should have to feel the kind of stress that’s been put on you. I hope you and your beautiful family have a great holiday season. Love, Taylor.”
Swift also shared a touching sentiment on Cornwell’s GoFundMe page, writing, “Nikki, I read about you in the Washington Post and thought it was really brave of you to share your story. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve had to go through this year and wanted to send you this gift, from one Nashville girl to another. Love, Taylor.”
Super-classy of Taylor and of course she used her favorite number (13) with the donation. Shocked she didn’t donate $13,013. And by leaving personal notes on their Go Fund Me pages, Taylor knows her donations will make news and draw more people to seek out those pages and maybe donate more. All that being said, this is not the way any of this should have worked! F–k Mitch McConnell, f–k the Republican Senate and f–k all of these Republicans who have failed to help Americans during the pandemic. McConnell *wants* President Biden to have to deal with a double-digit recession and mass unemployment in his first year.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I have never wished for someone’s demise as much as I have for Mitch’s.
Once the head of the Republican snake gets removed, the Republicans will fall down.
I go over to breitbart sometimes to see what they are up to. Their comment section for an article about no stimulus checks was interesting. They are all ticked at Mitch too. They were actually making some sense in their observations about Republicans being beholden to big business.
Wonders never cease. I’m glad at least some of them have finally figured out how gross McConnell is. We really do need some serious wealth redistribution in this country.
They absolutely are, but the funny thing is that big business WANTS Congress to pass a generous stimulus bill because that would be good for businesses! The US economy is driven by consumer spending.
This is exclusively about Mitch wanting to stall economic recovery as much as possible because he feels it would politically benefit the GOP by kneecapping economic growth under the Biden administration. He’s craven and driven by one thing – power, attaining it and holding on to it at any cost. I listened to a 6-part NPR podcast about his political career and that was what I came away with.
Now that the world is experiencing a second wave, most countries are expanding economic relief. I don’t really think you can call what we have here a second wave, because we never got out from under the first. It’s just been one continuous tidal wave here, under Trump. He turned us into the covide s-hole of the world, which we should have saw coming once he said “s-hole countries”. Because he’s all about projection. And then McConnell made sure to kill every bill out of the house that would help our citizens. So now we have many millions more Americans starving, becoming homeless, unable to feed their children, unable to obtain basic health care and medications.
Biden won’t be able to turn the tide much. I do believe he will be able to conquer covid within a year, but he won’t be able to do much else. Not any shortcoming on his part. I’m pretty despondent. But I do give kudos to Taylor, I really like her more and more.
I read some of Katie Porter‘s thread about McConnell last night, basically it sounded like everyone else was on board to approve this except for him. One evil little troll should not be able to stall the entire country like this.
Unless we win both seats in Georgia, Congress is pretty much going to be deadlocked, but I do think Biden can do a lot with executive orders. Not really the best method, but he has a lot of damage to repair.
If everyone else is on board, why don’t the GOP gang up on Mitch and say knock it off? He is only one person, after all. Trump is barely paying attention anymore, so it’s not like they need to be concerned about him calling names or whatever. He’s busy planning his next Nazi rally/superspreader event.
Class act all day, that Taylor.
Fk that monster Mitch and all his rethug enablers.
There have been so many heartbreaking stories because of Covid and the economic problems it has caused. It’s been tough here in Ireland and we’ve managed the virus and the economic fall out better than the US. Biden has a very very difficult job ahead and that reptile in the ill fitted huma suit is deliberately trying to make it even harder. I am willing with every ounce in my body for the two Georgia Democrats to win their senate runoffs and end McConnell’s evil reign.
Super classy of Swift. She’s always been very generous and here she’s using her platform so well, not only to help these two ladies but to draw attention to whole situation.
I really don’t understand how Kentucky voted for that turtle again. Especially when we are in a pandemic, do they not want relief?
What’s astounding is that it’s not that he’s super-popular there, it’s that nobody who runs against him is more popular or appealing to them. McGrath was almost as fiscally conservative as him. And the state has a Dem governor so it’s not as if those voters just automatically vote for the Republican.
It is a nice gesture on Taylor’s part but two or three people helped at a time is no way for this country to do this. We need broad, systemic change.
Especially after all that cackling during the debate. What even was that?
He brings in so much pork for the state. It’s $$$$ for Kentucky.
Good for Taylor!
If you can, please give to food banks. Even if it’s just a couple of dollars, they can really make them stretch, and demand is incredibly high.
I was coming here to say the same thing. I don’t want to sound critical Of Taylor for helping someone with bills besides food because it is true that that is the government’s job and the government is failing miserably. But food banks stretch dollars a long way and can help many people at once. As an example of how far it stretches, 33 people in My department donated a total of $2000 to a local food bank and that $2000 is going to end up donating 8000 meals.
I thought this way, but i had an illuminating experience last month. I gave someone a few hundred dollars, I knew they were hurting and I told them I wanted to buy them a nice Thanksgiving dinner. They used it to pay their electric bill and car insurance bill and renew a much-needed anti-depressant script. This really brought me up short. I felt like I’m so privileged I’m thinking oh go buy yourself a really nice dinner for Thanksgiving, when all they really want is a sandwich and to pay their utility bill so they have electricity. It made me realize people need both. Food and cash. They really do. Both needs are urgent.
@Darla I can’t fault anyone for doing whatever they can to help anyone with bills because people need shelter and warmth just as much as food. The government isn’t doing enough. It feels like the common people who are in a position to help are stepping in to chip away at a mountain of need with a toothpick.
Yes that is exactly what it feels like.
These are two different things.
Donating 8000 meals will help more people with a basic need.
$13000 can change one person / family’s life.
Both are important, just in different ways. We had a story of someone living nearby who was struggling financially after her husband left her with two kids and no money, no job. Well, her community raised $5000 to help her, and it was a total game changer. She could pay her bills, feed her kids, and take a course in bookkeeping. She got a good job with benefits after that.
She now coordinates a couple of donation events in the neighborhood, and donates money and time to pay it forward.
Not saying one is better than the other, they just achieve different goals.
Taylor has actually been donating to food banks recently as well!
LaraK, that’s awesome! It’s wonderful when people are able to get on their feet, and then pay it forward someday. There’s a really wonderful local charity here that started as a clothing donation group and grew to a full community project, and a lot of people they help turn around and help them when they can.
I think it’s all good. If you can help a lot of people, do it. If you can help one person, do it.
There are no words in an earthly language to describe what a horrible person Mitch the Bitch is.
I question whether Mitch is even a human being.
2020-the year I have lighten up on Taylor Swift.
2020, man.
2020.
😂😂😂😂😂
I admire celebrities who are so generous. Taylor has been hitting up GoFundMe pages for years. I think it’s cool that in addition to helping charities, she seeks out individuals to help. Good for her!
I can’t believe how little our government has done for the people who need it. Sad thing is, I feel like most Americans are conditioned into thinking they need to go it alone and that they shouldn’t rely on the government for help, when in fact governments in every other developed country have been helping those who are unemployed the entire time. Not only that, but other governments have been helping businesses that aren’t safe to open (like movie theaters) stay afloat as long as they don’t fire their employees, instead of encouraging them to reopen despite the health risks. What we have going on here is so effed up and I don’t think half of the population even realizes how NOT NORMAL this is.
This is exactly it, yes. Great post. Americans are like abused kids who equate abuse with love. We don’t know any better. It’s really sad.
I have Covid right now. Everything should’ve been SHUT DOWN and the government should have been floating things financially until a vaccine came out. Period.
I’m sorry Ellie I hope you recover well and fast.
TY! <3
Good for Taylor Swift. I’m liking her more and more: she’s really grown into a lovely woman.
But she shouldn’t have to do this. This is a national problem – a national disaster. The government under Trump is shameful.
The US Dollar is the reserve currency of the world. Because of that, we are the nation that is best positioned to help citizens during this destabilizing time. But noooooooooooooooooooooo, why would we ever want to do that? Man, Mitch McConnell needs his Senate majority ripped away from him.