CNN
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Taylor Swift signed onto a lucrative touring partnership with FTX before its collapse, but FTX pulled out of the arrangement, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Had the deal materialized, the “Bad Blood” singer might have joined a legion of celebrities who endorsed cryptocurrency products in recent years and now face vanished paydays and legal trouble in light of FTX’s high-profile implosion last fall.
Swift’s failed deal with Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange made headlines in April when, in a podcast appearance, Adam Moskowitz, a lawyer representing customers suing FTX’s celebrity endorsers, said he discovered that Swift declined to sign a sponsorship deal with FTX due to her questions about whether the crypto exchange dealt in unregistered securities.
Bankman-Fried has been accused of orchestrating one of the biggest financial frauds in US history, allegedly costing investors billions of dollars and improperly using customer funds from his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Last month, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges levied against him by federal prosecutors, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
But a person familiar with the Swift discussions said the artist’s side had agreed to a $100 million tour sponsorship deal, but the deal was never finalized due to hesitation on FTX’s side. Moskowitz did not respond to CNN’s request for comment, but told the New York Times that he “had no insider information about the talks.”
In December, the Financial Times reported that the deal would have incorporated NFTs into Swift’s tour ticketing arrangement, but it failed after some FTX employees pushed the company’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, to kill the sponsorship due to its high price tag.
Representatives for Taylor Swift declined to comment.
Other celebrities, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, and Naomi Osaka, signed deals with FTX, which declared bankruptcy last fall. Brady and Bundchen also held stakes in FTX that were likely entirely wiped out.
Celebrities who endorsed FTX and other cryptocurrency projects in recent years, including Jimmy Fallon, Madonna, and Kim Kardashian, have found themselves under legal scrutiny and have been accused lending credibility to the risky crypto products they promoted. Kim Kardashian was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year and agreed to pay a $1.3 million fine for touting a crypto asset called Ethereum Max, and failing to disclose that she was paid $250,000 for the promotion.
CNN’s Kara Scannell and Chloe Melas contributed to reporting
