Taylor Swift Poses Backstage With Family of Fan Who Died at Rio De Janeiro Show
The family of Ana Clara Benevides Machado — the 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan who died before one of the singer’s Eras Tour gigs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil earlier this month — was on hand Sunday night (Nov. 26) in São Paulo to see the show and meet the star.
People magazine reported that Swift invited Machado’s family to her final Brazilian tour stop and, according to pictures posted on X, she also met the group backstage and posed for a picture with the Machado’s, who were all wearing shirts with images of Ana Clara on them; a source close to Swift confirmed the invitation and the photo with Machado’s family.
Machado died on Nov. 17 before Swift’s show at Estadio Nilton Santon in Rio after falling ill at the show, where first responders attended to her before she was transferred to a local hospital, where she died. Nine days later, her family watched Swift’s show from a VIP tent on the floor of — per pictures and video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Swift was shaken by the news of Benevides’ death, posting he reaction in an Instagram Story in which she said, “I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it’s 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 she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
She said she would not be able to speak about the loss from stage because she felt “overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it. I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my heart goes out to her family and friends.”
Following his daughter’s death, Machado’s father, Weiny Machado, spoke to a Brazilian newspaper last week about the loss of his only daughter, who he called a “happy and intelligent girl… I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.” NBC News reported that the Rio Civil Police launched an investigation into the company behind the Swift shows in Brazil, Time4Fun, just days after Machado’s death.
A spokesperson for the Civil Police Department of Rio de Janeiro told NBC that its consumer delegations department had launched an inquiry into “the crime of endangering the life and health” of concertgoers. The shows in Rio were held during a record-breaking heat wave in which temperatures at the stadium reportedly reached a heat index above 130 degrees Fahrenheit; Swift postponed one of the weekend shows due to excessive heat.
The department told NBC that the investigation is not directly connected to Machado’s death; the young fan reportedly passed out during the second song of Swift’s set and experienced cardiorespiratory arrest, though the official cause of death has not yet been announced.
See a pic of Swift with the family below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
