Taylor Swift reveals why she performed right after meeting victims of Southport attack

Taylor Swift has opened up about the moment she met the victims of the Southport attack last July, and why she still went on stage to perform.

The pop star was in the middle of her massive Eras tour last summer, about to perform in Wembley, when the Southport attack happened. Axel Rudakubana murdered three girls, Bebe Kind, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice de Silva Aguiar. They were at a Taylor Swift themed yoga and dance class.

In a new six-episode documentary series on Disney+, we see Taylor Swift’s process coming to terms with the incident and meeting the victims moments before performing.

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Explaining why she chose to perform right after this heartbreaking moment, she talked about providing her supporters with a place to “escape”.

“From a mental standpoint, I do live in a reality that’s unreal a lot of the time,” she said. “But I need to be able to handle all the feelings and then perk up and perform.”

The singer also explained how the Southport killings affect her emotionally to this day.

“Being afraid that something is going to happen to your fans is new,” she said.

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During the same tour, she also had to cancel shows in Vienna due to the threat of a terrorist attack that she described as a possible “massacre situation”.

“Everything that went into this was all of the lessons that we’ve learned [throughout] all of our lives,” she added.

At the time of the killings, Taylor posted a statement on her Instagram.

“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock. The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there — the families and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”

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Featured image via Disney+ and Terry Scott/SPP/Shutterstock