A $40 The Life of a Showgirl hairbrush from Taylor Swift’s official merch line is going viral for all the wrong reasons, and fans can’t stop roasting it online.
After a photo of the brush was shared on X, it quickly sparked jokes across Swiftie circles, with many calling out the product’s questionable build quality and price point.
As per longtime fans of the Grammy Award-winning artist, however, this was not the first time something like this has happened.
Swifties are calling out Taylor’s team over the questionable quality of a $40 The Life of a Showgirl hairbrush
The uproar began when X user @beginagaintv posted a photo of her $40 The Life of a Showgirl hairbrush, which arrived damaged.
“My showgirl hairbrush came broken. Thanks UMG,” the X user wrote, showing photos of the damaged merchandise. The post took off, garnering over 1.9 million views on the social media platform.
Taylor Swift’s official website indicates that the $40 hair brush is made of a bamboo base and cellulose acetate. It is currently out of stock as of writing.
The brush itself looks good with a pearlescent finish, but as could be seen in the viral X post, the brush’s bamboo base and cellulose acetate are only attached by a small glop of glue. This incited jokes in the X user’s comments section.
“Can’t believe Taylor approved this,” one person wrote. Another mocked, “You got scammed lmfaooo.” A third added, “You’ve now got yourself a paddle!!”
Others took a more critical tone, saying it reflected a pattern of poor quality in some of Taylor’s official products. “This is why you buy ONLY clothing merch lol,” one fan advised.
my showgirl hairbrush came broken…
thanks umg pic.twitter.com/ljnECEDKMA
— rachel ♡ ❤️🔥 (@beginagaintv) October 12, 2025
“I can guarantee you the rhinestones off the tumbler will fall off after one use/wash, and the jewelry will turn that ugly rust color and your skin green. It’s not quality stuff or materials – cheap s**t.”
Calls for better oversight soon followed. “Her merch team needs to do some reevaluations,” one comment read. “Obviously, Taylor is too busy to quality check her merch, but she is responsible for assigning someone to. This is unacceptable. Or at least lower the price.”
Fans stated that this isn’t the first time Taylor’s merch missed the mark
This isn’t the first time Swifties have raised concerns about merch quality. During the Eras Tour, Taylor’s team was forced to offer exchanges after fans complained that their shirts were fading after a single wash.
As reported by Rolling Stone, Taylor’s website at the time acknowledged that a “faint fade” could appear on some products due to the “ink curing process” and its “distressed, vintage look.”
At the time, Taylor’s website promised replacements for anyone experiencing “a dramatic loss of pigment or ink bleeding on your product.”
One fan told Vulture that they had even been warned about Taylor’s merch quality at a booth in a Las Vegas show. “I was actually warned about it from the girls running the booth,” the fan stated.
The incident led some longtime fans to approach Taylor’s online store with caution. It is not uncommon for users in forums such as the r/SwiftieMerch subreddit to exchange information and tips on which merch to purchase and which to avoid.
Travis Kelce’s signature on Taylor’s new CDs recently added to the gripe of some Swifties
Interestingly enough, the viral $40 hairbrush fiasco is not the first miss in Taylor’s The Life of a Showgirl line of products.
According to a BuzzFeed report, some fans recently discovered that their signed The Life of a Showgirl CDs also featured the signatures of Taylor Swift and her fiancé, Travis Kelce.
While this was seen as a lighthearted and even heartfelt easter egg of sorts for some Swifties, others did not respond positively to the addition of the NFL Hall of Famer’s signature on their Taylor Swift merch.
“Ppl don’t purchase signed things for a signature from the artist’s fiancé,” one fan wrote bluntly.
Another said, “This is literally just sooo weird like.. that’s YOUR art — why would you think your fans would want your boyfriend’s signature??? It’s so presumptuous and odd.”
Others, however, pointed out that The Life of a Showgirl CDs that are signed with both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s signatures would likely prove valuable.
“Y’all are mad for getting a Hall of Fame tight end’s autograph? Give me your CD,” wrote one fan on X.
Netizens shared their thoughts on Taylor Swift’s $40 The Life of a Showgirl hairbrush fiasco on social media
