Taylor Swift gifted her Eras Tour crew over $55million in bonuses and was left "sobbing" as they gave her a standing ovation.
News of the 33-year-old superstar's generous gift was revealed on August 1 but now the niece of one of the truck drivers has shared more details, and revealed how Taylor broke down in tears as the crew thanked her for the last 20 weeks.
In a new TikTok, user @katemess1 revealed that she had seen the news stories and asked her mom, whose brother works for one of the two transportation companies used by the tour, if it was true.
Her uncle in fact received $200,000, double the amount that was first reported, and the fan revealed that on Saturday July 30, as Taylor drove away from the stadium in Santa Clara towards the final venue of the tour, her uncle, the head truck driver "had all of the drivers go out and clap as her limo drove away from the last show".
Taylor's dad Scott Swift then called her uncle to thank him for the gesture, and revealed that "Taylor is sobbing, she is so touched by it".
Michael Scherkenbach is the founder and CEO of Denver, Colorado-based Shomotion trucking company one of the two companies, and he told CNN that almost 50 of his members received bonuses that far exceeded the standard expected bonus which is normally no more than $10,000.
“The typical amount is $5,000 to $10,000 each. So this large amount is unbelievable.” He also told Today that it was Scott who presented all the drivers with their checks, along with "handwritten letters from Taylor".
It is also believed that Taylor gifted other members of her crew, including the dancers, technicians, and catering bonuses that totaled over $55 million.
Taylor's 52-date tour kicked off on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and HELLO! called it a bejeweled return for the popstar who had not performed since 2018.
The US leg will wrap up on August 9 in Los Angeles at So-Fi Stadium, and it has since expanded to a total of 106 shows worldwide taking in Europe, Asia and Australia.
Tickets for the American tour dates broke Ticketmaster records with a staggering two million sales in a single day and it is expected that the tour will net the Grammy winner over a billion dollars - the first music artist to ever do so.
The current record holder, Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, garnered over $887 million over five years, surpassing Ed Sheeran's $776 million record set by his Divide Tour (2017-2019).