Taylor Swift has spoken out in the wake of a tragedy.
The musician posted a handwritten note on her Instagram Story late Friday in which she said that her heart was “shattered” by the passing of a fan ahead of her concert at Estadio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
According to various outlets, the fan in question was only 23 years old.
She died reportedly from heat stroke-related causes.
“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 her social media statement.
She continued as follows:
“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.”
Local concert organizer Time For Fun confirmed the death of Ana Clara Benavides Machado on Friday, releasing a message that read in part:
“Last night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was promptly attended to by the team of firefighters and paramedics, being taken to the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos [on-site medic] for first aid protocol.
“Given the situation, the medical team chose to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital, where, after almost an hour of emergency care, she unfortunately died.”
A cause of death for Machado has not been publicly revealed.
Swift — who played the first of three shows at Estadio Nilton Santos last night — added that she would not be able to speak about the fan’s death during her performances, explaining on Instagram:
“I’m not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.
“I want to say now 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.”
Various footage captured by fans at the concert and shared on Twitter featured Swift pausing her performance to ask that water be brought to attendees.
“There’s people that need water, right here,” Swift said as she stood and pointed at a section of the crowd where fans appeared to be waving empty water bottles in the air.
“So whoever is in charge of giving them that, please come and make sure that that happens.”
Swift emphasized from the stage how it was “very hot” and tried to cite the people/sections that seemed most in need of hydration.
Later in the concert, Swift was spotted throwing a bottle to a fan while singing her 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”
According to another fan video on social media, Swift’s concert team eventually delivered bottles of water to the crowd.
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