One of Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour crew members is speaking out about how much her generosity helps those she employs.
News broke earlier this week that the “Bejeweled” superstar gave $100,000 bonuses to each truck driver of her tour before the Saturday night (July 29) show in Santa Clara, Calif., according to TMZ and ET. Swift has around 50 drivers on her tour, making the total amount of money around $5 million.
Mike Scherkenbach, who runs concert transportation company Shomotion and has worked on a number of Swift’s tours over the years, told Rolling Stone on Thursday (Aug. 3) that Swift has always been generous, but the latest bonuses have been “life-changing” to the drivers.
“She’s giving a sum of money that is life-changing for these people,” he told the publication. “A lot of these drivers are not homeowners, and a lump sum like this gives you the ability to put a down payment on a home. That’s what makes me really happy. That generosity is a game changer for these people.”
She also reportedly gave bonuses to band members, dancers, lighting and sound technicians, caterers and other crew members. Scherkenbach said most artists of Swift’s level of fame typically give drivers $5,000 to $10,000 extra, making Swift particularly generous.
“They did the documentary on the last tour, Reputation, for Netflix, and she listed my drivers in the credits,” he added of Swift and her team. “To put the drivers’ names in the movie credits? That shows the character of a person.”
He continued, “The comments that I read that bother me the most are when they’re comparing [what she gives] to her net worth. That’s irrelevant. There are a lot of very wealthy people who choose not to share a dime of it. We work with all kinds of wealthy people, but this is not the norm.”
The Eras Tour’s U.S. leg concludes with six shows at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium (Aug. 3-5 and 7-9).
