“Perhaps the most memorable scene from Taylor Swift’s new Disney+ documentary is when she gives out the tour bonuses to her team of dedicated dancers.”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
Squealing with delight, cameras follow her behind the scenes as she writes personal notes for each Eras Tour crew member, encloses a cheque and seals the envelope with her trademark wax stamps.
Her team then all stand in a circle as her lead dancer Kameron Saunders reads out his note and discloses the amount they have all been given as everyone is left speechless, their hands covering their mouths.
While the exact number is beeped out many fans on social media have claimed it definitely looks like he mouthed the number $750,000.
The total in bonuses given out for her tour reach a whopping $197million – with truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merch teams, lighting, sound, production staff and assistants and the dancers benefitting.
And while the incredible amount has unsurprisingly generated many headlines, it’s not the first time the billionaire, 36, has proved her generosity amid her sparkling career…
Eras Tour dancer bonusesTaylor made history after grossing a record $2billion in ticket sales for her career-spanning, 21-month Eras Tour – which consisted of 149 shows in 21 countries.
As a reward to her team, Taylor is said to have handed out more than $197million in bonuses to everyone working on the tour.
The Lover singer is notably a benevolent boss, and the moment she gives the mammoth bonuses to the performers and crew, complete with personal notes, is shown in her new Disney+ docuseries The End of an Era.
In a scene from the docuseries, dancer Kam reads aloud a personal note from Taylor revealing the unknown individual bonus amount – which is bleeped out.
The crew are then all seen covering their faces at hearing the amount, with many breaking down in tears.
One dancer reportedly almost passed out when opening his letter.
And now fans who have been replaying the moment and watching carefully what Kam was mouthing claim they think each dancer was given a whopping $750,000.
Rumours on X began spreading as people penned: ‘THE BLEEP WAS SO LONG… that’s a six figure beep.’
‘It looks like he’s saying $750,000.’
‘Yup 750k.’
‘Taylor writing a little poem to give her dancers $750k is extremely Taylor Swift coded of her – this sweet angel.’
‘Taylor gave her dancers/crew $750K each …yeah y’all can’t make me hate her.’
‘they may have bleeped that but the dancers absolutely got 750k each.’
‘$750k bonus is insane. Most industry dancers make $140k a year if they’re fully employed year round.’
Those who received a bonus included truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merch team, lighting, sound, production staff and assistants, carpenters, dancers, band, security, choreographers, pyrotechnics, riggers, hair, make-up, wardrobe, physical therapists and video team members.
Standing in a circle with her crew, Taylor is seen saying on bonus day to her dancers: ‘Everybody has the same message on their card so I was hoping you could open it together.
‘Before you open yours I just want to say you guys this leg of the tour has been harder than anything I’ve ever done in a live setting and you guys have taken this on with such excitement, such curiosity and the endurance you’ve shown. The spirit you’ve shown.
‘How much you’ve given to these crowds, that gives to me every single night. The tour has done really well thanks to all of our hard work. So if you could kindly read the message.’
Reading the card aloud, a crew member called Kam reads: ‘Dearest Kam, we’ve travelled the world like we set out to do. We’ve dazzled the crowds but we’ve missed family too.
‘My full gratitude doesn’t come from a bank but here’s a… [bleep] dollars just to say thanks. Love Taylor.’
The crew are all seen covering their faces at hearing the amount, with many breaking down in tears.
Truck driver bonuses
It comes two years after it was revealed that she shelled out $100,000 in bonuses for each of her truck drivers, who were responsible for hauling her equipment around the country amid the US leg of her tour.
Per TMZ, she handed out the huge six-figure bonuses to the workers ahead of her Santa Clara, California, concert.
At the time, the publication stated that there were around 50 production truck drivers taking part in the US leg of the tour, meaning that if she did indeed pay $100,000 in bonuses, she would have written a check for upward of $5million.
Last October, the Cruel Summer hitmaker officially became the world’s richest female musical artist, with a a net worth of $1.6billion, according to Forbes.
The Fortnight artist – who has a real estate portfolio estimated at about $125million, Forbes said – achieved the financial feat of becoming a billionaire solely through her musical endeavors, royalties and concerts.
Food bank donationsLast October it was revealed that the Style hitmaker made a ‘generous donation’ to 1,400 food banks across the UK in cities amid her Eras tour.
The singer handed over an ‘unexpected’ contribution to Trussell food banks in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London – the cities she performed in on her record-breaking global tour.
Swift, who became the first artist to play Wembley Stadium eight times on the same tour, is thought to have given the country a huge economic boost of almost £1billion following the UK leg of her Eras Tour.
The global superstar’s support came at an ‘incredibly important time’ when the charity expected a ‘huge number’ of people to turn to it for support, Trussell director of public engagement Sophie Carre said.
Trussell did not disclose how much Swift donated, but Ms Carre added: ‘We are extremely grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous donation to Trussell.’
Ms Carre continued: ‘We weren’t expecting it, but obviously we were really delighted when we found out.
‘I think with something like this, you never know, and we were very excited when her team got in touch.
‘It’s a really nice opportunity to make a local impact, but know you’re part of a national cause, and you can see the impact nationwide as well. It’s great that it’s an opportunity to connect that local and national impact.’
Ms Carre said Swift had helped highlight the charity’s work.
Asked whether the singer’s gift has prompted others to donate, she said: ‘I haven’t seen anything to that effect at the moment, but I know that it’s really helpful she’s put a spotlight on Trussell and our food banks.
‘Particularly at this time, as we face winter and the incredible levels of need that we know the food banks will need to meet.
‘It really makes a difference and hopefully it will encourage others to support us if they can, and to play a part.
‘We’re certainly hoping that it helps encourage people to learn a bit more about us and get involved if they can.’
‘We are extremely grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous donation to Trussell. We are delighted that she has chosen to support the work of food banks.’
This, alongside the other donations she has made directly to food banks across the country, will help people facing hunger and hardship during their toughest moments, while working towards a more just future where everyone can afford the essentials.’
The donations went directly to food banks through the charity’s emergency grants programme, which supports the community initiatives which are most in need.
She also gave away money to help the hungry, providing hundreds of thousands of meals in the US while she was on tour there.
Children’s hospital visitsBack in June, Taylor made a sweet surprise visit to a local children’s hospital in Florida.
Her visit came just hours after a loved up appearance at the Stanley Cup Final with partner Travis Kelce.
Taylor’s visit took place at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital with the megastar stopping and talking to patients, staff and families.
She also posed with the hospital’s Chief of Surgery, Dr. Jill Whitehouse, during her visit.
Dr. Whitehouse shared the sweet moment on her Instagram page, writing a sweet note along with it.
‘Chief of Surgery meets Chief of the World! Undeniably one of the kindest human beings I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Thank you #taylorswift for making dreams come true for all of our patients, families and staff today!’
It came after last December her and partner Travis Kelce made an emotional visit to a children’s hospital in Kansas City, days after she wrapped up The Eras Tour.
She looked delighted as she posed with children being treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital, before joining staff for a group snap.
Her boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs star Travis, 36, was also at the hospital but the pair were not pictured together.
Melissa Nuzum, the mom of patient Baylee who Taylor visited wrote on Facebook: ‘We had the coolest and most unexpected surprise ever… Taylor Swift came to visit inpatient children today and Baylee was chosen since she requests Taylor songs during her uncomfortable procedures.
‘Ya’ll she is amazing. On top of her sheer beauty, she was a kind and personable and down to earth.
‘She gave Baylee a signed copy of her Eras Tour book and accepted a gift from Baylee, a diamond art picture as well.
‘We have fan girled all morning. I even cried as it’s wonderful to see my girl smile so much knowing the pain she’s been in.
‘Thank you Taylor and those involved at Children’s Mercy that helped make this happen.’
Charity donations Taylor has made a habit of generously donating to those in need.
Just this October the superstar made a $100,000 donation to a two-year-old girl named Lilah, who is battling a ‘very rare’ and ‘aggressive form of brain cancer,’ according to a GoFundMe page set up for her.
The Daily Mail reached out to Taylor’s representative for comment.
Although it’s not currently clear how Taylor came to learn of Lilah’s plight, an Instagram post from an account that boosts awareness about children battling severe illnesses revealed the little girl’s love for the songstress.
The post included a photo of colorful friendship bracelets that were being sold by another cancer patient to help raise money to pay for Lilah’s costly treatments.
‘Lilah said she wanted TS to be her best friend which is where her mama’s Lilah’s friend bracelet inspo came from,’ the Instagram post said. ‘Her initials are also LS so Lilah Strong was just perfect for her!’
According to the GoFundMe set up for Lilah by her aunt, her cancer was discovered after she suffered a seizure at home in February, while her mother was in labor in the hospital with her younger sibling.
Lilah ‘was rushed to the hospital where they did a scan and found a mass on her brain’.
An MRI revealed that she had a stage 4 tumor in her brain, but doctors were able to successfully remove the entire tumor, and Lilah appeared to be recovering well.
‘Later that day she was transferred to a children’s hospital for an MRI where they found out that the mass was a stage 4 tumor.’
But her family got more bad news later that week, when she was diagnosed with a ‘very rare’ and ‘aggressive form of brain cancer’.
The little girl will have to undergo a three-month chemotherapy regimen, as well as three months of stem cell treatments, and costs for Lilah’s family were sure to rack up, as the family would have to essentially live at the hospital for four-week stretches while she was being treated.
Swift’s $100,000 donation on Friday instantly topped the list of donations to Lilah.
Fans quickly discovered Taylor’s act of generosity and decided to join in.
As a nod to her interest in numerology and a reference to her lucky number, many fans donated $13 to the campaign.
Taylor’s act of kindness came just days after her friend Ruby Rose revealed just how generous she is while coming to her defense.
Ruby shot down incorrect claims from some fans and critics that Taylor is conservative or sympathetic to acolytes of Donald Trump.
Instead, she highlighted her generosity and said on social media that the Shake It Off singer ‘used to scroll GoFundMe like a social media app, clicking “reach their donation” like the “like” button’.
In addition, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo previously revealed that Taylor made a massive, quick donation to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) NICU program.
Ellen said Taylor wrote the ‘biggest check’ she’d ever seen for the charity within minutes of meeting her, after Pompeo appeared in Taylor’s ‘Bad Blood’ video.
The money went to supporting the music therapy program for babies there.
Hurricane relief donations Last October it was revealed that Taylor contributed $5million to support communities affected by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida.
Feeding America, a non-profit organization, shared a statement from its CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, on social media, expressing gratitude for the pop superstar’s donation.
The charity noted how the lump sum will go towards helping communities rebuild and recover by providing essential resources like food, clean water, and supplies to those impacted by the storms.
‘We’re incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous $5million donation to Hurricanes Helene and Milton relief efforts,’ the post read.
‘This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms,’ the statement went on.
‘Together, we can make a real impact in supporting families as they navigate the challenges ahead. Thank you, Taylor, for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and for helping communities in need.’
In the past, she donated $1million toward disaster relief efforts in Tennessee following storms in December 2023.
She also made a $100,000 donation to assist the family of a woman who tragically lost her life at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade last February.