In the aftermath of deadly flash floods in Texas over the 2025 July Fourth weekend, countless rumors spread about various celebrities donating millions of dollars or traveling to the state to help victims of the natural disaster. At the time of this writing, over 130 people had died in the floods, while over 100 people were still missing.
Country musician Blake Shelton, WNBA star Caitlin Clark and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow were only some of the celebrities targeted by such claims.
Here are 10 rumors about the Texas floods involving celebrities from Snopes’ archives:
One story that spread online was this: that musician Bruce Springsteen donated money to families of victims of the floods to cover funeral expenses. However, the person or people behind the story made it up to earn advertising revenue on websites linked from Facebook posts with the claim.
Claims spread online that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow donated millions of dollars to flood relief efforts, hired two helicopters to rescue victims, offered her Texas home for relief work and was herself rescued while reporting on the natural disaster. There’s no evidence any of that ever happened.
Tennis star Coco Gauff didn’t donate $3 million to support search-and-rescue efforts after the floods, despite popular social media posts claiming otherwise.
Claims spread online that country music singer Blake Shelton — along with fellow country singer Luke Bryan or Shelton’s wife, musician Gwen Stefani — traveled to Texas to help families affected by the flooding. However, there was no proof to substantiate the claims. A representative for Shelton said he hadn’t been “on site in Texas” as of this writing.
NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes has Texas roots. But that doesn’t mean a story about him donating $1.5 million to help victims of the floods, as well as renting apartments for them, was true.
A false claim spread across social media that musician Eric Clapton paid for funeral expenses for victims of the massive flooding. An examination of a Facebook page that pushed the rumor found multiple indications of artificial intelligence-generated images and text.
While country star George Strait has a documented history of charitable giving, there was no credible evidence to support rumors that he had made a $3.5 million donation to Texas flood relief efforts. A representative for him said the rumor was false.
Claims about Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant also spread on social media, stating that he donated or built shelters for people displaced by the floods. However, we found no credible evidence supporting the rumors.
Users claimed WNBA star Caitlin Clark and her team, the Indiana Fever, donated millions of dollars to support victims of the floods. Like similar rumors involving celebrities, there was no evidence to support the claims.
Another rumor spread online claiming singer and rapper Jelly Roll donated $50 million and traveled to Texas to support victims of the floods. That claim was also false. No news media outlets reported on the alleged charity effort.
