Taylor Swift Becomes Charitable Pop Idol After Tom Hiddleston Split
Taylor Swift has since put her focus on her fans and charitable efforts shortly after her split with British actor Tom Hiddleston. The whirlwind couple called it quits after just three months of dating on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Taylor Swift made one of her biggest fan’s wishes come true on Thursday, Sept. 8. Swift, 26, had a private video chat with Meghan Hils, an 18-year-old fan from Ohio who is battling pulmonary atresia, a type of heart disease, reports ABC News. Hils’ father, Daniel, told the outlet that she had five open heart surgeries and has been in and out of the hospital for most of her life.
“My daughter lives a pop culture life because of her ailment,” Daniel said. “She’s not hanging out or going out on dates, so she spends a lot of time with the television.”
Unfortunately, Meghan’s condition worsened and she has become terminally ill. When she turned 18 back in March, she qualified for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to terminally ill patients. Meghan originally said that her wish was to either meet Ellen DeGeneres or Jimmy Fallon since she assumed Taylor Swift was too big of a celebrity to ever fulfill that wish.
Still, Daniel took to Facebook to make Meghan’s wish to meet Taylor Swift come true. The post immediately went viral, and then Daniel received a text message on Thursday saying that Swift would love to have a video chat with his daughter.
“Sure enough, Taylor called, and they chatted for a little close to a half an hour. [Meghan] was truly starstruck. I was filling in some of the conversation because Meghan was like, ‘This is crazy!’ That’s what she kept repeating. I don’t think she really believed that it could happen or would happen, and it did.”
After their conversation, Meghan took to Twitter to thank her favorite singer.
“The words thank you will never be enough to say to Taylor Alison Swift for this day and taking the time to video chat with me for 19 mins on September 8th, 2016. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Taylor.”
My thank you note to @taylorswift13 for this day, Thursday, September 8th, 2016. Thank you, Taylor. pic.twitter.com/7OsW1NZF7p
— Meghan Marion Hils (@MeghanMarion13) September 8, 2016
In addition, Swift has donated $5,000 to help pay for the funeral costs for Katie Beth Carter, an 18-year-old fan from Alabama who died in a car crash over the Labor Day weekend, reports Us Weekly. Shortly after the teen’s family set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for her medical expenses and funeral arrangements, Swift wanted to help them out.
“No words could express how sorry I am for your loss,” Swift wrote on the fundraising page. “I know that you will keep Katie’s memory alive. Please know how much I am thinking of you and saying a prayer for your family. All my love, Taylor.”
Katie’s sister, Kimi, took a screenshot of the singer’s messages and shared it on her Instagram account on Thursday, writing, “this……. I cannot believe this at all……. thank you so much, Taylor,” she captioned the photo. “me and my sister are smiling so hard…@taylorswift.”
Because of Swift’s incredible generosity and big heart, the GoFundMe’s page met its goal of $30,000. Swift’s charitable actions could be her way of getting over her split from Hiddleston. Insiders told Us Weekly that she ended their short-lived romance after the pair discussed their future together. Swift didn’t feel comfortable with the fact that their relationship became so highly publicized.
“Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with. She was the one to put the brakes on the relationship. They get along great and will remain friends, but they just don’t see it working romantically right now.”
[Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]
