What is going on with the gas fees and transactions?

Yesterday, I had my USDT stuck on my Trust Wallet, needing ETH to launch forward. It asked for 17.50$ worth of ETH. I purchased 50$ and then it asked for more! I decided to swap all of my USDT for ETH, I paid the gas fees in ETH and the smart contract just stands there. I assume it's failed but the ETH cost was deducted. Now it wants 130$ worth of ETH to do anything with my USDT. I swear to God, this shit is a scam. Fuck everyone! It was the last of my savings.