Taylor Swift Effect: Sea Otter Shirt Fundraiser Surpasses $2 Million for Monterey Bay Aquarium
MONTEREY, CA – A shirt featuring a sea otter, spotted on Taylor Swift during the making of her music video ”the Fate of Ophelia” as part of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” has fueled a massive fundraising surge for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, exceeding $2.1 million for the Sea Otter Program as of Friday. The limited-edition shirt, a collaboration between the Aquarium and Liberty Graphics, launched Thursday morning and quickly became a viral sensation among swift’s fans.
The shirt isn’t sold directly, but is a reward for donations of $65.13 or more to the Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program and broader ocean conservation efforts. Within four hours of going live, nearly 17,000 shirts where claimed, generating over $1.1 million. The Aquarium has been dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing stranded sea otters for more than 40 years, and the funds raised will directly support this critical work.
Originally available in a run of 50,000, the shirts are currently on backorder due to overwhelming demand. Donations are still being accepted at https://tiltify.com/monterey-bay-aquarium/sea-otter-shirt-reprint, with shipping expected to begin in late October. The initial launch took place on October 16,2025.
