Taylor Swift has broken her silence on a fan, 23, who died of cardiac arrest at her sweltering concert venue in Rio during her Eras tour.
Ana Clara Benevides fainted while at the show and is believed to have suffered cardiac arrest. Despite efforts from doctors on site, Benevides was subsequently taken to hospital where she died.
Swift released a harrowing statement in which she expressed extreme grief as she mourned the 23-year-old she remembered as ‘incredibly beautiful.’
‘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,’ she wrote.
‘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.’
Ana Clara Benevides fainted while at the show and is believed to have had a cardiac arrest and despite efforts from doctors on site the 23-year-old was subsequently taken to hospital where she died
Taylor Swift broke her silence after Benevides died remembering her as an ‘incredibly beautiful’ person
Swift offered candor in her statement revealing that she was ‘not going to be able to speak about this from stage’ because she is ‘overwhelmed by grief.’
Temperatures in the stadium hit 100 Fahrenheit during the performance forcing the 33-year-old superstar to stop the show to get water for fans
‘I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends,’ she added.
‘This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.’
Temperatures in the stadium hit 100 Fahrenheit during the performance forcing the 33-year-old superstar to stop the show to get water for fans.
‘There’s people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back,’ she said pointing to a group on the floor of the arena.
‘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?’
‘Do you see the phones?’ Swift could be heard talking to her team off-stage as the crowd chanted: ‘Water, water, water, water.’
Swift offered candor in her statement revealing that she was ‘not going to be able to speak about this from stage’ because she is ‘overwhelmed by grief’ after Benevides death
Benevides is seen in an undated picture wearing an I love Taylor Swift singlet top
In a series of undated pictures Benevides is seen in a stadium for a Swift concert
As the show continued Swift was also seen throwing a bottle of water into the crowd.
The Eras Tour has a further two shows in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday and Sunday before heading to São Paulo next weekend.
Earlier on Friday, a 16-year-old Taylor Swift fan who was gifted the singer’s ’22’ hat during her Eras Tour stop in Cincinnati died after a five-year battle with cancer.
Ally Anderson was diagnosed with stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive and rare soft tissue cancer, in 2018, at the age of 11. She died on November 13, according to People.
When the teen attended Swift’s concert in Cincinnati on July 1, she was brought down from her seat and taken to the front of the stage.
The smiling pop star danced up to her and placed her black fedora from her ’22’ costume on her head as she held her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
Swift released a harrowing statement in which she expressed extreme grief as she mourned the 23-year-old
The moment was an unforgettable one for both Ally and her mother, Patty Garner Anderson, who was in the audience with her.
‘It changed my daughter’s life immensely,’ she told People. ‘I hadn’t seen Ally smile and laugh like that in a very long time.’
Ally shared a video of herself wearing the fedora on TikTok with the caption: ‘What happened.’ She also posted footage of the moment Swift gave her the gift.
‘No words to describe what it felt like to be pulled from my seats to the floor. I knew immediately,’ she wrote. Taylor was my first concert so many years ago. Honestly such a full circle moment.’