Taylor Swift's Brazil fan death update: Father calls for probe
The father of Ana Clara Benevides Machado - the young woman who collapsed at a Taylor Swift concert - wants answers regarding the circumstances around her death.
The music industry is still reeling from shock following the death of a Taylor Swift fan at a concert in Brazil last week.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado - a 23-year-old psychology student - collapsed at the 'Lavender Haze' singer's concert venue in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, November 17.
According to local media, she fell ill at the concert venue due to extreme heat. The city experienced a heatwave that saw the heat index soaring to around 59ºC.
Ana reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital. A "shattered" Taylor postponed her Friday and Saturday 'Eras Tour' concert dates due to the "extreme temperatures". She made an emotional return to the stage on Sunday.
Ana's family is devastated by the loss. Her father, Weiny Machado, told news outlet Folha de S.Paulo that he lost his only daughter. He described her as "a happy intelligent girl".
"She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money. I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead," he said.
Weiny has called for an investigation into what happened on that fateful day.
"I want it to be determined whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance. I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size. Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
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when they point to the pictures, we will tell them your name.
— hands (@handslore) November 20, 2023
Ana Clara Benevides, rest in power pic.twitter.com/qBAbwdZgaf
Meanwhile, a petition has been started on change.org, calling for free water to be mandatory at events.
"I begin the campaign for the Ana Benevides Law, a law that will guarantee free distribution at events. The events industry feels embarrassed by the lack of responsibility of the company responsible for today's event and would like there to be change so that such a fatality does not occur again!" the petition stated in Portuguese.
More than 300,000 people have signed the petition. Its current goal is 500,000.
Taylor's fans united to help Ana's family pay for the cost of transporting Ana's body back to her hometown.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, she is "originally from Pedro Gomes, Mato Grosso do Sul, but she grew up in Sonora".
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Main image credit: Instagram/@acbenevidesm, Instagram/ @taylorswift