Taylor Swift is “devastated” following the death of a fan at her Eras Tour concert in Brazil on Friday (Nov. 17).
The pop superstar shared a handwritten note on social media after the show at Rio de Janeiro’s Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos to express her sorrow over the loss.
“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,” Swift wrote on her Instagram Story. “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.”
She continued, “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. 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.”
A cause of death for the fan, identified as 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, has not been revealed.
The concert’s organizer, T4F, wrote on Instagram that paramedics attended to the woman after she reported feeling unwell. She was first taken to a first aid area and then to a hospital, where she passed away shortly after, according to the Brazilian promoter.
Some concert-goers complained that they were not allowed to bring in water bottles to the stadium despite a record-breaking heat wave in Rio, the Associated Press reports. Temperatures reached 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the city on Friday.
During the show, her first of three at the venue, Swift paused her performance to request water for a group of fans who indicated they needed it.
“There’s people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back,” the singer said, as seen in fan-captured footage on X. “So whoever is in charge of giving them that, just make sure that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?”
On Saturday morning (Nov. 18), T4F shared a statement on Instagram noting that free water will be distributed at designated areas of Swift’s concert and that a limited number of sealed water containers will be allowed into the stadium.
Swift is scheduled to continue her Eras Tour at Rio’s Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos on Saturday and Sunday.
See T4F’s statements on Instagram below.
