Mom of Taylor Swift fan who died at show hits out at lack of support from concert team

The mom of the 23-year-old who passed away after falling ill at a Taylor Swift concert has spoken out.

On November 17, 2023, student Ana Clara Benevides Machado attended one of Swift's Eras Tour concerts at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ana became unwell ahead of the show and later passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at hospital.

The student's mom has since spoken out, accusing the people who 'put [the show] together' 'not giving' the family 'support'.

Concertgoers reported sweltering conditions at the concert, so hot Swift paused the concert so fans could get water and the next show was postponed.

The singer took to Instagram to address Ana's passing.

The post reads: "I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with 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 that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.

"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 thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."

Ana's mom has since spoken out about losing her daughter, hitting out at the organisers of the event.

South American promoter Time For Fun (T4F) - 'the company hired to hold the shows' reportedly offered the family psychological assistance, according to local media outlet Fantástico.

However, in an exclusive interview with the outlet, Ana Claro's mother Adriana Benevides claims the family haven't been offered any support to help return the 23-year-old home.

The mom said: "[Translation] The people at the show, who put it together, are not giving us support to bring her home.

"I know that these things don't even go through the singers, the artists don't even know about it.

"But we wanted them to give us the support, to bring her home. Because, unfortunately, we are paying for everything. And my daughter hasn't arrived yet."

The family has since started a crowdfunding, with a video of Ana's mother thanking people for support posted to X.

In the video, the mom says: "[Translation] Yesterday we started a crowdfunding asking for help. Thank God, we 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 and I wanted God to bless all of you."

The day after the tragedy, Mayor Eduardo Paes said on X: "The loss of a young woman's life yesterday at the show in Engenhão is unacceptable.

"Obviously, we are still finding out more details about the circumstances of what happened.

"In any case, I have already ordered the municipality's Executive Chief of Operations to demand action with the production of the show."

In a statement to Fantástico, T4F said they had made contact with Ana's family and continues to have an open contact channel.

UNILAD has contacted Taylor Swift's representatives and T4F for comment.

Topics: World News, Health, Mental Health, Parenting, Taylor Swift, Music, Celebrity, Twitter

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.