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Taylor Swift fan community aids in repatriating deceased fan after Brazil concert tragedy, Mom gets emotional
Young woman dies from heat at Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro. Mother of deceased fan criticizes concert organizers for lack of support.
A young woman who died from the extreme heat at Taylor Swift’s concert in Rio de Janeiro last weekend was a psychology student and a fan of the singer. Her mother, Adriana Benevides, thanked the people who donated money to bring her daughter’s body back to her home state of Mato Grosso do Sul, after she criticized the concert organizers for not helping her family.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, fell ill at the start of the show on Friday, and passed away at the hospital, according to her friend who spoke to the local G1 outlet.
Her mother appeared in a video on X, responding to the crowdfunding campaign that was launched after her daughter’s death.
“Thank God, we got reached the goal this morning. We got an amount that allows us to do everything we wanted. Thank God, a lot of people have donated,” she said in the video, which was translated.
She also said in a previous interview on Brazilian TV that the concert organizers, Time For Fun (T4F), did not offer any support to transport her daughter’s body back home.
“This is what hurts the most. She’s been there since Friday….the people from the concert who put it together aren’t giving us the support to bring her home,” she said, as reported by Newsweek.
“I know these things don’t get through to the singers and the artists don’t know about this but we wanted them to help us bring her home because we’re having to pay for everything,” she added.
The cause of death of Benevides has not been confirmed yet, but it is believed that she suffered from a heat-related illness due to the high temperatures at the concert.
The weather in Rio was around 102 degrees Fahrenheit, with 70 percent humidity, which made it feel like 138 degrees Fahrenheit, according to PBS.
T4F also faced backlash for not allowing water bottles into the stadium, which was crowded with fans. Swift, 33, had to postpone her Saturday concert because of the heat.
“I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,” Benevides’ father, Weiny Machado, quoted to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
T4F denied the accusations, saying that “the prohibition of bottles of water entering stadiums is a requirement made by public bodies” and that they do not “sell drinks and food, which is the responsibility of the stadium administration,” as quoted by Newsweek.
Swift, who was seen asking for water for the fans and struggling with the heat during the Friday show, expressed her sorrow over Benevides’ death on her Instagram Stories.
“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.
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“I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this,” she continued, saying that she had “very little information” about what happened.
She later sang her song “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” at her Sunday show, which many fans thought was a tribute to Benevides.
Swift is reportedly reconsidering her Thanksgiving plans after the tragic incident.
“The Brazil concerts … She is devastated about a fan dying. The weather is extreme. It’s a mess she didn’t expect. It’s been a traumatic experience. It’s been a lot. She is going to decide today,” a source told Page Six, suggesting that the singer might stay in Brazil over the holiday weekend.
