The sponsorship deal between defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX and Taylor Swift was reportedly called off at the request of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), and not the singer-songwriter, as many reports have suggested.
According to a July 6 report from The New York Times citing three individuals with knowledge of the sponsorship deal, Bankman-Fried was the one responsible for dropping a roughly $100 million agreement with Swift prior to FTX filing for bankruptcy. Swift’s team had reportedly signed the agreement after more than six months of negotiations but was frustrated and disappointed when SBF pulled the plug.
The report contradicts the narrative from many media outlets that Swift’s team had done its due diligence in considering the FTX deal before pulling out. Celebrities including football star Tom Brady, NBA point guard Stephen Curry and other high-profile figures have faced legal scrutiny in the wake of the exchange’s collapse, with some named in class-action lawsuits filed by disgruntled FTX investors.
Please go back and delete all your tweets about how “Taylor Swift is better at due diligence than tech bros”
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) July 6, 2023
Related: Celebs who got burned endorsing crypto and those that got away with it
Prior to news of the potential FTX deal, Swift was largely absent from the crypto space. However, the singer knows the power of owning one’s own data — or, in her case, music. She famously re-recorded and re-released many of her own albums in 2021 following a dispute with one of her old labels.
Bankman-Fried’s first criminal trial for his alleged role in fraud at FTX is scheduled to begin in October. The crypto exchange’s bankruptcy case is also ongoing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
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