As Taylor Swift processes the unexpected death of one of her fans, Travis Kelce has remained by her side.
“She is so grateful she’s had Travis,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly about the couple. “He’s been a huge support system for her right now. Her family has been there, but it’s different to have a boyfriend to lean on.”
According to the insider, Swift, 33, is still reeling after a 23-year-old fan named Ana Clara Benevides Machado died while attending the Eras Tour concert on Friday, November 17.
“She was completely beside herself and it’s been so hard for her to talk about,” the source adds, noting that the singer’s team “reached out” to the fan’s family.
Concert organizer Time for Fun (T4F) confirmed Machado’s death on Saturday, November 18, citing the heatwave in Brazil.
“Last night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was promptly attended to by the team of firefighters and paramedics, being taken to the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos [on-site medic] for first aid protocol,” a post on T4F’s X (formerly Twitter) page read. Given the situation, the medical team chose to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital, where, after almost an hour of emergency care, she unfortunately died.”
Swift spoke out via Instagram Story hours after the show took place, “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 by this. There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
Swift noted that she would not address the loss on stage. “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,” she said. ”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.”
Ana Clara’s father, Weiny Machado, subsequently asked local officials to launch an investigation into what caused his daughter’s death.
“I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl,” he told local newspaper Folha de São Paulo on Saturday. “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 explained: “I want it to be found out 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.”
After fans pointed out that Swift made multiple attempts to give concertgoers water during Friday’s performance, the next show was postponed due to the city’s “extreme temperatures.” Swift took the stage again the following two nights to finish out that leg of the tour. During the Sunday, November 19, show, she sang “Bigger Than Whole Sky,” seemingly as a tribute to Ana Clara.
Swift’s fans have come together since the tragic death to crowdsource funds to help Ana Clara’s family with funeral arrangements.
With reporting by Sarah Jones and Andrea Simpson
