Concerning footage of Taylor Swift seemingly struggling to breathe while performing in sweltering heat has emerged during a ‘devastating’ weekend for the pop star.
On Friday night, Taylor took the stage in 37-degree heat for her ‘Eras Tour’ at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium, Rio de Janeiro. Unbeknownst to the pop star, a 23-year-old fan had a medical emergency before the show even began, and later died in hospital.
After the show, a fan shared a video of Taylor turning away from the crowd, looking up into the sky and gasping for air between songs.
In just six seconds, Taylor quickly pants for air before turning around to sing her next hit for the crowd.
It was so sweltering hot fans began chanting “water” as they struggled in the crowd.
Despite the extreme heat, fans were reportedly banned from bringing water into the stadium.
In an attempt to make sure her fans were looked after, Taylor momentarily paused the show, saying: “Sorry, it’s just very hot, so when somebody says they need water when it’s this hot, they really need it.”
“We don’t need to chant, it’s totally fine, we just need to get water to them,” she added.
Later Taylor took it upon herself to care for her fans. In the middle of singing ‘All Too Well’, Taylor took a bottle of water from a crew member, walked across the stage and threw it to overheated fans in the crowd.
Footage from the fans’ perspective shows the group fanning each other as they grab Taylor's attention.
Taylor's best efforts to look after the crowd came too late for Swiftie Ana Clara Benevides, who fainted at the stadium before being taken to hospital.
The 23-year-old reportedly had been waiting at the venue since the morning to get a good spot, and later died due to cardiorespiratory arrest.
“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,” Taylor wrote in a handwritten statement on Instagram later that night.
“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,” she continued.
“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...”
Taylor later cancelled her next show in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday out of concern for her fans in the hot conditions.
Brazilian fans have since launched an online petition calling for a “Benevides Law” in honour of Ana to “make water in events mandatory.”
In just a few hours the petition received over 150,000 signatures.
Authorities have now announced that free water will be available at all future concerts.
