Taylor Swift Meets Family of Deceased 23-Year-Old Fan and Hosts Them at Sao Paulo Performance

Swifties have a reason to keep on loving Taylor Swift, as she demonstrated with a recent gesture.

Attending Taylor Swift's last performance in Sao Paulo, Brazil over the weekend was the family of Ana Clara Benevides, a 23-year-old fan who sadly died at the event in Rio de Janeiro. A wholesome picture of the Benevides family smiling backstage with Swift while donning T-shirts with Ana's pictures went viral on social media, News.com.au reported. 

Although it is known that Swift's staff contacted them after the incident, it is still unknown if they were personally invited on the last leg of Brazil's Eras Tour. However, video from the event shows the family attending the performance in the stadium's VIP area.

Swift's concerts in Brazil were plagued by reports of the heatwave, with tales of the artist and her entourage, as well as stadium officials, hastily handing water to thirsty fans. Ana Clara, a psychology major and an ardent  Swift fan, died of a heart attack before the event began on November 17 in Rio de Janeiro. Despite efforts to revive her at the stadium and on the way to the hospital, she died shortly after suffering a second cardiac arrest.

Weiny Machado, Ana's father, expressed his heartfelt sorrow over the passing of his only daughter, a cheerful and intelligent young lady who was about to graduate, per PageSix. “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money,” the doting father, 53, told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

In the midst of Brazil's deadly heat wave, Machado also stated that he wanted police to look into reports that the Rio stadium was forbidding spectators from carrying water inside. “I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,” Machado said.

The Grammy winner did not discuss Benevides' passing during her concerts, but on November 19, she walked onto the stage and performed a rendition of Bigger Than the Whole Sky, which many fans perceived to be an ode to Benevides. The 33-year-old singer wrote a heartfelt statement that she shared on her Instagram Story later that evening, sharing her sorrow over the untimely demise of Ana.

“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,” Swift’s note began. “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.” Swift continued, saying that she was “overwhelmed by grief” and would not be able to “speak about this from stage.” 

Swift decided to postpone her next event in Rio due to the extreme weather, putting her fans, crew, and other artists' safety first. Swift wrapped off her tour of South America on Sunday in Sao Paulo. She will now have a two-month hiatus before heading to Japan and Australia in February.