Taylor Swift posted a note on Instagram Stories honoring a fan who died at the singer-songwriter’s Eras Tour concert Friday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“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. 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,” Swift wrote.
“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,” Swift continued. “This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”
As reported by the Associated Press, the 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado started feeling unwell inside the Nilton Santos stadium, where Swift’s concert was being held. The sold-out concert took place during one of the hottest days in Rio, with a heat index — combining air temperature and humidity — of 59.3 degrees Celsius (138.74 degrees Fahrenheit). Fans were reportedly not allowed to bring their own water into the stadium.
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According to the show’s organizer, Time4Fun (T4F), Machado was attended to by paramedics before being rushed to a first-aid center and then a hospital, where she died an hour later. Machado’s friend, Daniele Menin, told Brazilian news site G1 that Benevides passed out during Swift’s second song of the concert, “Cruel Summer.”
During the concert, Swift made sure to keep her fans hydrated by pausing the show and asking staff to bring concertgoers water.
After Machado’s death, Brazil’s Justice Minister Flávio Dino announced via X that water bottles for personal use would now be allowed in the stadium.
Swift is scheduled to perform two more shows in Rio this weekend.
