Social media is in uproar amid allegations that Taylor Swift’s PR team is working overtime to spin a tragic story in their favor after a fan died at a recent concert in Brazil. The singer is currently on the South American leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Swift performed the first of three shows in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, Nov. 17, at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium. That day was especially hot, with a heat index of 123 Fahrenheit. As is common practice at many venues, concertgoers were not allowed to bring in outside beverages — including water bottles.
Several reports state that the stadium could not provide enough bottled water to fans during the show. Concert footage showed the “Shake it Off” singer throwing water bottles into the audience during her show amid chants for water, and directing the venue’s staff to individuals suffering from heat exhaustion.
As temperatures rose, tragedy struck when attendee Ana Clara Benevides Machado, who was in the front row, fainted and experienced cardiac arrest. Emergency personnel rendered aid to the 23-year-old before she was transferred to Salgado Filho Hospital, where she died.
Her father, Weiny Machado, has since spoken out about his daughter’s death. “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl,” he told Folha de S. Paulo, a local newspaper. “I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.”
Swift issued a statement via her Instagram Story that read, in part, “I want to say now that 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.” Her Nov. 19 show was subsequently rescheduled due to heat concerns.
While the college student’s death and subsequent call for an investigation have been major headlines internationally, social media users took notice of the U.S. media’s coverage that instead led with Swift’s emotional performance of “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” on Nov. 20.
“This is how you know a big PR machine is in play and the same story is being planted on every American news outlet. Mind you, if you search the Brazilian outlets the country where she actually performed this supposed tribute, they are saying a completely different horrific story,” tweeted an X user with a collage of stories published by American outlets.
Another X user replied, “What the media in the USA are posting is completely different from what is happening here, for example, the body of the girl who passed away is still in the morgue today, and the family is unable to take her body to the city where she lived. This whole situation is very sad.”
this is how you know a big pr machine is in play and the same story is being planted on every american news outlet.
— lesego. 🪩 (@LeeLovesBey) November 20, 2023
mind you if you search the brazilian outlets the country where she actually performed this supposed tribute, they are saying a completely different horrific… pic.twitter.com/8xJ8NaxCWh
“Y’all aren’t gonna give her the same heat as Trav, but no one ready for that convo,” wrote one person on Instagram.
Travis Scott was widely criticized and named in lawsuits for the crowd rush that killed 10 people at his 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas.
A third individual posted, “Taylor Swift’s team is trying to hide the true story. They don’t gave the fans any water in Friday’s show, Ana died during the concert in the second song, Cruel Summer JUSTICE FOR ANA BENEVIDES.”
Weiny has since demanded the venue be investigated for possible negligence. An official cause of death of the young woman has not yet been determined.
Ahead of Swift’s remaining shows at Santos Olympic Stadium, it was announced that concertgoers would be allowed to bring their own water inside as long as it was in an acceptable container.
