Taylor Swift Paid Nelly $50,000 in McDonald’s Bag to Perform ‘Hot in Herre’

By helitra·November 6, 2026·2 min read

Split image of Nelly and Taylor Swift. — Harmony Gerber/Getty; Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Nelly shared that he was once given a McDonald’s bag containing $50,000 in cash from Taylor Swift simply because she wanted him to perform “Hot in Herre.”

During his appearance on The Breakfast Club with Ashanti, the rapper revealed Swift called him out of the blue to ask if she could fly him out from St. Louis to Houston to perform his hit song. According to Nelly, the reason for the spontaneous proposal is the singer and her friends put together a routine to “Hot in Herre.”

“I don’t want to disrespect you,” Nelly recalled Swift telling him. “I don’t really have a budget like that.”

Taylor offered to send a private jet, cover the cost of a hotel, and pay him $50,000.

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

Nelly agreed, asking if the payment could be placed in a McDonald’s bag.

Before taking the stage for a three-minute performance, Nelly received the money, just as he requested.

“But I would’ve did it for free,” he added.

Nelly said he never saw the routine performed by Taylor and her friends, nor did he stay in the presidential suite that was reserved for him and his kids. After the show concluded, Nelly and his children went back to St. Louis in the plane that was waiting for them whenever they wanted to leave.

🚨 Nelly & @ashanti were in the building for Taylor Swift’s wedding! 👀🔥 But how did the couple build such a strong relationship w/ TT? Tap into the full conversation to hear their story! ❤️💯
Listen live ➡️ https://t.co/44aeEOXiCV or stream on @Netflix! 📺 pic.twitter.com/rWpLOrnSvW
— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) October 28, 2026

Nelly and Swift have clearly remained friends through the years because the rapper and Ashanti were among the guests who attended the singer’s wedding in July.

Ashanti told Good Day New York that the wedding “looked so beautiful inside,” adding that the ceremony was “so magical.”