The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the economy reeling and along with it, the job market. On Thursday, it was announced that 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, shattering the previous record of 685,000. In the U.S., joblessness also often means a lack of health insurance, which is less than ideal during a global health crisis. It’s a frightening time.
We’ve all got a role to play during a crisis. For most of us, that looks like staying home and using what resources we have to creatively help those who need us. But some people have more resources than others, and few have more than Taylor Swift. The global pop star knows that, and that’s why she’s reportedly been reaching out to fans who’ve been posting about being out-of-work and sending them thousands of dollars.
A few fans posted the private messages they got from Swift, most of them understandably hyperventilating with joy and relief.
https://twitter.com/flower__swift/status/1242996774723301376
Swift also reached out to a fan who’d posted about not being able to afford living in New York City after her work dried up following the outbreak.
“You’ve always been there for me,” Swift wrote. “I want to be there for you right now.”
i made a post on tumblr about how i was scared i wouldn't be able to stay living in NYC because of what corona has done to the music industry. @taylorswift13 literally single-handedly saved my ability to stay here. i cannot even believe my eyes right now pic.twitter.com/3hAxkSVvGo
— holly turner (@ittybittyholly) March 25, 2020
A fan named India Rose watched her freelance work disappear and wrote on Tumblr that she didn’t know how she was going to afford to make rent. Later that day, Swift herself jumped into Rose’s DMs and asked for her PayPal information to send her $3,000.
“I’m so sorry things are tough right now,” Swift wrote. “I’d like to gift you $3000 to help to ease that strain.”
In summary: I’m shaking and crying and just fell over a rug in my rush to ask my brother if Taylor’s message was real &now I’m probably (definitely) concussed??❣️♥️
This virus took my new dream job away but @taylorswift GAVE ME SOME JOY TONIGHT out of pure kindness I’M— #BEKind pic.twitter.com/13nSKM2uZH— India Rose | “LY DUDE. YOU DESERVE SUPPORT, TOO.” (@hopefulgoodgirl) March 26, 2020
It’s just one of the many, many encouraging stories blossoming out of all the scary ones. Celebrities are obviously a little more recession-proof than the rest of us, and the ones who recognize that such privilege comes with a certain amount of responsibility are worth acknowledging. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated a million dollars to food banks. Rihanna donated $5 million to relief efforts. Like Swift, Britney Spears has been reaching out to fans over Instagram to send them money, food and even diapers. We are, as they say, all in this together.