Taylor Swift Met With the Family of the Fan Who Died Shortly Ahead of Her Rio Tour Stop

Hanna Lustig
·2 min read
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Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images

Taylor Swift didn’t leave Brazil without saying a proper goodbye to the family of 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, the fan who died shortly before Swift’s show in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month.

On November 26, Benevides Machado’s loved ones arrived at Swift’s final Brazil tour stop in São Paulo. There, the family of five apparently had the chance to meet Swift and pose for a group photo that was later shared widely on X (formerly Twitter) along with a clip of them enjoying the show from a VIP tent at at Allianz Parque stadium.

The reunion took place only nine days after Benevides Machado’s death. In photos, her whole family—including her father, Weiny Machado—can be seen wearing shirts featuring Ana’s face and a personal quote.

Ana Benevides Machado began to feel unwell in the hours before Swift’s show at Estadio Nilton Santos on November 17. She was picked up by first responders and rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, per event organizer Time for Fun. Brazilian authorities are still looking into her cause of death, but the incident is believed to be related to the heat wave that had even Swift herself appearing to struggle to breathe.

After finding out about Benevides Machado’s passing, Taylor Swift addressed the tragedy in a handwritten letter shared to her Instagram story.

“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,” the pop star wrote. “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.

“I’m not going to be able to speak about this from the stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it,” Swift concluded. “I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my 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.”

Originally Appeared on Glamour