Taylor Swift donates $50k to mother of five whose husband died of Covid

Singer has given financial aid to many people during pandemic

Taylor Swift has donated $50,000 (£36,400) to a Memphis woman who lost her husband to Covid-19.

The singer and her mother, Andrea, jointly donated the total goal amount of a GoFundMe appeal for Vickie Quarles, a mother of five daughters whose husband, Theodis Ray Quarles, died of coronavirus a week before Christmas.

This is not the first time Swift has given financial help to people affected by the pandemic. Last December, she gave $13,000 (£10,000) to two mothers from her hometown of Nashville who were struggling to pay rent and bills. She had been moved to make the donation after reading their story in The Washington Post.

She also made a financial contribution to a record store in Nashville that was in danger of going out of business because of coronavirus.

Doyle Davis, co-owner of Grimey’s, told Rolling Stone that Swift had paid for three months of the staff’s health insurance plan, as well as making undisclosed cash donations.

Read more:

• Line of Duty viewers spot worrying Steve Arnott morse code detail
• Every Marvel superhero ranked
• Sanjeev Bhaskar reacts to ‘savage’ Unforgotten ending that left viewers ‘screaming’
• BBC Breakfast presenters ‘spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities’ after Union flag row

Swift released her latest album, Evermore, in December. The Independent’s critic Helen Brown gave it four stars, writing: “Though it takes a while for the melodies to seep through the tasteful burbling of acoustic moods, Swift’s country-honed storytelling gifts are guaranteed to draw listeners in, transforming our speakers into campfires.

“She says all the time spent reading and watching classic novels and movies over lockdown encouraged her to look beyond her personal, tabloid-shifting dramas, and she sings these ‘17 tales’ from the perspectives of fresh, fictional characters. And she’s great at it.”