Father of Taylor Swift fan who died before Brazil concert seeks answers from promoters

Taylor Swift canned a show in Brazil, saying the "safety and wellbeing of my fans, fellow performers and crew always has to come first". Photo / AP

The father of a Taylor Swift fan who died shortly before one of the pop megastar’s concerts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is seeking answers from promoters.

Swift, 33, was due to take to the stage as part of her Eras tour on Friday (local time) but was left heartbroken when she heard 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides - who had initially passed out in the 42C heat before suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest - had died.

The victim’s father Weiny Machado has spoken out about suggestions that concertgoers were forbidden from taking water into the stadium.

He told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo: “I want to know if it’s true that they are prohibited from bringing water and neglected to provide assistance. I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl.”

Shortly after the tragedy, Swift decided to call off her show for the “safety” of her fans.

She said: “I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio.

“The safety and wellbeing of my fans, fellow performers and crew always has to come first.”

Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The Love Story singer was also quick to pay tribute to Benevides and noted she was “overwhelmed” by grief and would struggle to speak about the incident on stage.

In a handwritten note posted to Instagram, Swift said: “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. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am.

“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was 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.”

The Anti-Hero songstress concluded her note by claiming she felt the loss “deeply” and admitted that writing about the death of a fan at one of her shows had never crossed her mind when she jetted off to the Southern American country.

She added: “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.”