The father of Ana Clara Benevides Machado — the fan who recently died before Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil — has spoken out following his daughter’s death.
Speaking with local newspaper Folha de São Paulo on Saturday, Weiny Machado said he is grieving the untimely death of his only daughter — who was just 23 — and called for “justice” for his child.
“I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl,” Machado said. “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.”
On Friday, the heat index — which accounts for both heat and humidity — read at a shocking 140 degrees Fahrenheit for Rio De Janeiro, according to FOX Weather.
In addition to the weather conditions, fans were packed into the stadium and were purportedly not allowed to take water in with them despite complaining of the rising temperatures.
Ana’s cause of death has yet to be confirmed but the office of Rio’s public prosecutor opened a criminal investigation and said her body was being examined, The Associated Press reported.
“I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,” Machado said in response to the fans’ statements about the water prohibition.
“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,” the grieving father continued.
At one point during the concert, Swift, 33, became concerned with fans’ safety and could be seen in videos on social media throwing out bottles of water designated for her.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the “Lover” singer said she was “devastated” by Benevides’ death.
“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,” Swift wrote in an Instagram story. “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.”
“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. 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,” she continued.
Taylor Swift / Instagram
According to Time for Fun, one of the event’s organizers, Benevides felt unwell and was promptly tended to by paramedics before being taken to the stadium’s medical center. She was then transported to a nearby hospital where she died. Local reports indicate she died after going into cardiac arrest.
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes took to his X account Saturday morning and shared “the loss of a young woman’s life at the show” is “unacceptable.” Amid the intense heat wave, the mayor has directed organizers to allow fans entry into the stadium an hour earlier than usual, increase water distribution points and increase ambulances.
On Saturday, amid the continued and unprecedented heat wave, Swift postponed her show due to the “extreme temperatures” in Rio.
The Midnights singer took to Instagram moments and shared that she came to the decision to postpone the show while in her dressing room inside Estadio Nilton Santos.
“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio,” she said in a handwritten message shared on her Instagram Story.
“The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first,” she wrote.
Saturday’s show was moved to Monday, Nov. 20.
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