RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL: The heartbroken mother of the Taylor Swift concertgoer who tragically lost her life from extreme heat at the singer’s Rio de Janeiro concert last weekend expressed gratitude to fans for crowdfunding to bring her daughter’s body home after she lashed out the event organizers for not helping to facilitate her return.
Ana Clara Benevides’ mother, Adriana, appeared distressed in a video responding to the fundraiser that was launched after the young woman died at the Eras Tour show in Rio on Friday, November 17.
What did Ana Clara Benevides' mother say?
“Thank God, we got reached the goal this morning. We got an amount that allows us to do everything we wanted. Thank God, a lot of people have donated,” she said in video translated on X. The 23-year-old woman fell sick at the start of the show, and later breathed her last at the hospital, Benevides' friend told the local G1 outlet.
According to Newsweek, the stadium show’s organizers, Time For Fun (T4F), subsequently came under fire for allegedly not helping the psychology student’s family transport her body back to her home state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
“This is what hurts the most. She’s been there since Friday … the people from the concert who put it together aren’t giving us the support to bring her home,” Benevides’ mother said in a tearful appearance on Brazilian television earlier this week, the outlet noted.
“I know these things don’t get through to the singers and the artists don’t know about this but we wanted them to help us bring her home because we’re having to pay for everything,” she said.
Ana Clara Benevides’ cause of death yet to be revealed
Even though Benevides’ official cause of death has not been revealed, she is believed to have suffered from heat-related illness stemming from the extreme temperatures at the concert. Temperatures around Rio rose to 102 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the show, along with 70 percent humidity, which made it feel closer to 138 degrees Fahrenheit, according to PBS.
What did Ana Clara Benevides' father say?
“I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,” Benevides’ father, Weiny Machado, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S Paulo.
T4F also responded to the criticism, stating that “the prohibition of bottles of water entering stadiums is a requirement made by public bodies” and that the organizer does not “sell drinks and food, which is the responsibility of the stadium administration,” Newsweek added.
Taylor Swift also reacted to Ana Clara Benevides’ death
Swift could be seen stopping to cope with the conditions and to ask for water for the fans at multiple times during the Friday gig.
“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,” the 'All Too Well' songstress wrote of Benevides’ death on her Instagram Stories early Saturday, November 18. “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this,” she added, noting that she had “very little information” about what happened.
“The Brazil concerts … She is devastated about a fan dying. The weather is extreme. It’s a mess she didn’t expect. It’s been a traumatic experience. It’s been a lot. She is going to decide today,” an insider told PageSix of the singer’s apparent decision to stay in Brazil over the holiday weekend.
