Taylor Swift Fans Say She’s Exempt From The ‘Ethical Billionaires’ Debate

A new documentary series about Taylor Swifts record-breaking Eras Tour has reignited a debate online about the moral implications of wealth accumulation, as scenes showing Swift giving generous bonuses to her tour staff have fans claiming she should be exempt from criticism faced by other billionaires.

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Key Facts

The second episode of her new docuseries “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | The End of an Era” shows what Swift called “bonus day,” when crew members were each given handwritten letters and large bonuses for their months of work around the world.

In the episode, backup dancer Kameron Saunders reads a letter from Swift aloud to other dancers and, while the exact amount of the bonus is bleeped out, it has been reported the dancers took home an extra $500,000 each.

Other scenes show production assistant Max Holmes saying hes going to “pass out” after receiving his bonus and one dancer taking a breath from an inhaler before joining in on a group hug.

In total, Swift gave out $197 million in bonuses to everyone working on her tour from truck drivers to caterers, lighting engineers and her glam team, and the gifts have fans arguing shes an example of an “ethical billionaire.”

The “ethical billionaire debate” questions whether or not its possible for someone to accumulate vast wealth without exploiting people or systems in an unethical way, and weighs the positive contributions to society made by billionaires against perceived negative implications of broader issues like wealth disparity.

Key Background

Swift became a billionaire in October 2023 and owes much of her wealth to $800 million she pulled in from royalties and touring, along with her $600 million music catalogue, and $110 million in real estate. Criticisms of Swift‘s wealth have largely focused on her private jet usage and the corresponding environmental impact, and claims she’s exploited her fans by encouraging over consumption. Earlier this year she was criticized by fans who said she used her latest album, the “Life of a Showgirl,” to chase industry records by partnering with tech giants Apple and Google to promote the album and releasing more than two dozen “exclusive” variations of the same record. She put out 34 different physical and digital versions of the same songs—all with different art and exclusives—within weeks of the albums release.