I’m never here to police anyone’s feelings and people have the right to be upset (especially fans in Brazil) but I do think it’s important to take a breath and take a step back. It’s very clear that the shortcomings of that first show and the tragedy of Ana’s passing fall firmly on the shoulders of T4F. I don’t think it was done with malicious intent when Taylor said in her statement that Ana passed before the show, I just think she/her team were misinformed. Obviously it would…look better on paper if it happened beforehand, but I don’t think they’d lie about it. I saw many conflicting reports myself, I can only imagine the chaos it was to actually be in the middle of it.
I did think Taylor’s statement was a bit odd, but there’s no rulebook, there are no guidelines on how to handle a tragedy like this. It was clear to me that she was being careful with her words, which is understandable given the nature of the situation. We literally do not know anything about what’s happening behind the scenes right now. I’m positive this is a legal issue. Her team will have advised her to not say or do anything that might even have a sliver of a chance of “admitting guilt”. They will have advised her to tread very carefully. Is it cold? Yeah, but legal matters typically are. It’s also possible she’s waiting to get this show over with and she’ll make another statement/reach out to the family when she’s out of Rio, possibly when she’s out of Brazil entirely after the 26th. I know that I wouldn’t want to publicly speak out against the entertainment company running my show right before I have to go do that show. What does not need to happen is for people to get even more riled up, creating a volatile environment. I don’t think it’s a reach to assume that Taylor’s safety is also a factor right now, too. People were already leaking her hotel address and getting very angry after Saturday’s show was postponed. As far as stopping the first show, is there any proof or confirmation that she was informed of the situation during the show? I would think if her team knew at that point, they certainly wouldn’t pull her off stage or say “oh hey, just so you’re aware...” during a quick costume change.
The focus right now should be getting through this show tonight with no one getting seriously injured or losing their life.
I’m positive Taylor will take care of the family when she’s able to move and speak more freely. I know she’s a corporate machine and a business and whatnot, but she’s also a human being and she’s not heartless. She’s shown several times throughout the years that she cares about her fans and I really don’t believe that she’s just shrugging this off. I imagine she’s probably not in a great place mentally or physically with performing in the extreme heat for 3+ hours and then trying to reconcile one of her fans losing her life because she came to her show. Again, we have absolutely no clue what’s happening between Taylor’s team, T4F, the stadium, insurance, etc. I imagine that in itself is pretty volatile. Other than Ana’s family suing the shit out of T4F, they shouldn’t be dragged into that mess. I’m so glad that fans were able to raise the money to get her body back to her family, and I hope they’re feeling the love and support from fans around the world.
There’s no way to make this situation any less devastating. We can wish things were said and done differently but we have the benefit of looking in from the outside. Carrying the weight of tragedy is not easy, especially with the entire world’s eyes on you. Losing a loved one like this is unimaginable and I can’t fathom how much her family and friends are hurting, and they have to mourn with so many strangers looking at them, too.
