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Father of Taylor Swift Fan Who Died at Brazil Show Seeks Answers from Concert Organizers: ‘I Lost My Only Daughter’

Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, died Friday before the singer's Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro
Ana Benevides. PHOTO: ANA BENEVIDES INSTAGRAM

Ana Benevides. PHOTO: ANA BENEVIDES INSTAGRAM

The father of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, the Taylor Swift fan who died at the singer's concert in Brazil, is seeking answers from the concert’s organizers. 

Benevides Machado, 23, died ahead of Swift’s Eras Tour show at the Estadio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

One of the event organizers, Time for Fun, identified Benevides Machado as the fan who died on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday. In the post, written in Portuguese, they said she had felt unwell at the venue and was attended to by first responders before being transferred to Salagdo Filho Hospital, where she died.

Benevides Machado’s father Weiny Machado, 53, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo he wants clarification on whether fans were prohibited from bringing water into Friday’s show. "I want to know if it's true that they are prohibited from bringing water and neglected to provide assistance,” he told the outlet. “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl.”
 

Fans of US singer Taylor Swift queue outside the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium before Swift's concert, 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour', amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, 2023
Fans at Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro. 
TERCIO TEIXEIRA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
 

"She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money,” Weiny continued. “I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Time for Fun for comment.

According to Folha de S.Paulo, fans at Swift’s Sunday show in Rio claimed that they weren’t given any water while waiting in line for the concert.

The day before, the “Karma” singer had postponed her show in the city as a result of the extreme heat. "I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium," Swift shared in a handwritten posted to her Instagram Stories on Saturday. "The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers and crew has to and will always come first."

Time for Fun later confirmed in a statement that the show has been rescheduled to Monday.
 

Taylor Swift Says Heart is 'Shattered' After Fan Death at Brazil Eras Tour Concert: 'I Feel Overwhelmed by Grief'
Taylor Swift at her Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 17. 
BUDA MENDES/TAS23/GETTY

Swift shared her devastation at Ana Clara’s death on social media. “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,” Swift wrote in a handwritten message posted to her Instagram Stories on Friday.

“I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this," she continued. "There’s very little information I have other than the fact she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.” 

“I’m not going to be able to speak about this from the stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it," she wrote. "I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my 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,” Swift concluded her heartfelt note.
 

Taylor Swift Says Heart is 'Shattered' After Fan Death at Brazil Eras Tour Concert: 'I Feel Overwhelmed by Grief'
Taylor Swift performs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 17. 
BUDA MENDES/TAS23/GETTY


In footage shared by fans on X earlier in the night at Friday’s concert, the pop superstar could be seen pausing her performance and asking for water to be brought to fans.

"There's people that need water, right here," Swift said as she stood up from her piano and pointed at a section of the crowd where fans appeared to be waving empty water bottles. "So whoever is in charge of giving them that, please come and make sure that that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?”

Fans in the crowd then began chanting, “Water, water.”

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Another video posted by a concertgoer from around the same moment showed Swift again pointing out where the fans in the crowd who needed water were.

"Sorry, it's just — it's very hot, so if somebody says they need water when it's this hot, they really need it," she said.

"We don't need to chant, it's totally fine. But, we just need to get water to them," Swift told the audience, before appearing to speak to someone in the audience to confirm that water was being brought to those who needed it.

Author: Editors Desk

Source: People Magazine:

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