Celebrity News November 26, 2023
Taylor Swift Meets with Family of Fan Who Died Before Her Rio Show
Before her final Eras tour show in Brazil, Taylor Swift met with the family of the young fan who died before her Rio gig.
The family of Ana Clara Benevides Machado — including her father Weiny Machado — met with Swift before her São Paulo show, posing for a photo in which they all wore T-shirts bearing their late loved one's smiling face.
Taylor Swift se encontrou com a família da Ana Clara Benevides antes do show de hoje, em São Paulo.#SaoPauloTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/Tz3MqmWelg
— Update Swift Brasil (@updateswiftbr) November 27, 2023 @updateswiftbr
The family watched from a VIP tent.
Ana Clara died November 17 in a hospital after taking ill at the Estadio Nilton Santos, where she was in the crowd awaiting Swift's show.
Taylor Swift spoke out in grief at the time to acknowledge the sudden death.
"I can't believe I'm writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show," read the note, in handwriting font, on her Instagram Stories. "I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this. There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young."
Machado reportedly felt sick while at the venue in Rio de Janeiro, was seen by medical personnel, and died at Salagdo Filho Hospital after being rushed there for treatment.
One of the concert's organizers, Time for Fun, confirmed the details of Machado's passing.
"I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it," Swift went on. "I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."
As "RIP Ana" trended on Twitter, fans shared stories about conditions in Estadio Nilton Santos, saying the heat was overwhelming. At one point, Swift was captured on video saying, "There's people that need water right here," and pointing to a group of fans waving water bottles, which were reportedly disallowed by the venue.
In the video, Swift herself confirmed the stadium was sweltering, noting, "Sorry, it's just it's very hot, so if somebody says they need water when it's this hot, they really need it."
The stadium allowed water and provided fans by the time the next show was performed.