Meet Lilah, The Reason Taylor Swift Donated $100,000
Taylor Swift delivered a $100,000 lifeline to two-year-old cancer patient Lilah Smoot, becoming the top donor on the family’s GoFundMe and adding a heartfelt note of support as Lilah’s mother shares updates on her fight.
Here is a rare bit of good news: Taylor Swift quietly dropped $100,000 on a GoFundMe for a 2-year-old fan battling brain cancer, then left a note like she was texting a friend. The gift made her the campaign’s top donor and helped push the total past $260,000. More on the kid, the diagnosis, and Swift’s track record below.
The donation, the note, and the TikToks
Swift gave $100,000 to the GoFundMe for Lilah Smoot, a two-year-old whose mom, Katelynn, has been posting TikToks of Lilah dancing to Taylor’s songs. In one clip, Lilah even calls Taylor her friend — which makes the note Swift left feel extra personal.
"Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah! Love, Taylor"
The GoFundMe launched on March 13 and, as of now, has raised more than $260,000. The family says they had been struggling to get Lilah the care she needs, so this kind of money changes the math.
Who is Lilah, and what happened?
According to the family’s GoFundMe, Lilah’s fight started at just 18 months old after she suffered a seizure. Doctors found a mass on her brain that was identified as a stage 4 tumor. She underwent brain surgery and, at first, it looked like the procedure worked. But later that same week, the diagnosis shifted to a very aggressive form of brain cancer — the kind you never want to read about and almost never do, because there are only 58 documented cases in the U.S.
The plan laid out for her treatment: 3 months of chemotherapy followed by 3 months of stem cell therapy to try to fully clear the cancer.
How the family responded
On October 17, Katelynn posted a thank-you video and said she was in shock and beyond grateful. Most importantly, she said the donation means they do not have to worry about anything other than caring for Lilah right now. In other words, the financial weight got lighter, fast.
Swift’s broader give-back pattern
This is not a one-off. Swift has been writing checks to all kinds of causes for years, from health emergencies to education to disaster relief. A few recent highlights:
- 2024: $5 million to Feed America to support relief efforts after hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Florida (via Billboard)
- 2022: A sizable donation to Beth Stern’s pet rescue foundation
- 2020: $30,000 to a college fund for aspiring mathematician Vitoria Mario
- And she has been donating to various causes going back to at least 2011
The takeaway
Say what you will about pop-star platforming, but this is one of those moments where celebrity reach and a quick click really matter. A rare diagnosis, a tiny kid who dances to Taylor on TikTok, and a six-figure donation that lets her family focus on treatment instead of bills — that’s a real-world plot twist worth rooting for.