Taylor Swift emotionally opened up about a fatal stabbing at a children’s dance class celebrating her music in her End of an Era docuseries.
“It’s just kind of a weird feeling going into these last five shows in Europe,” Swift, 35, said in the first episode ahead of her Eras Tour residency at London’s Wembley Stadium. “We’ve done, like, 128 shows so far, but this is the first one where I feel like I’m skating on thin ice or something. We’ve had a series of very violent, scary things happen to the tour.”
Swift canceled three concerts in Vienna, Austria, in August after a thwarted terror attack planned at the concert venue. The previous month, several children in England were killed while attending a Swiftie music class.
“It was little kids,” Swift tearfully said in End of an Era. “I’m gonna meet some of these families tonight and put on a pop concert, you know? It’s gonna be fine because I’m not gonna do [cry].”
Taylor Swift Reacts After Stabbing at Swift-Themed Event That Left 2 Dead
Swift invited several of the Southport victims’ families to see one of her concerts in London the following August.
Keep scrolling to revisit what happened during the tragic incident and how Swift responded:
Southport Attack: What Happened?
News broke on July 29, 2024, that there was a stabbing incident at a Swift-themed dance and yoga class in Southport, England. Two children were killed in the tragedy, with nine other kids sustaining critical injuries. A pair of adults had also been hospitalized with injuries.
“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said in a press conference at the time. “As a mom of two daughters, and the nana of a 5-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families of the victims are currently going through and I want to send them our heartfelt condolences and sympathies.”
Axel Rudakubana Arrested for Southport Attack
Shortly after the incident, local police arrested Axel Rudakubana, then 17, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Rudakubana initially pleaded not guilty before changing his plea ahead of a January 2025 trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 52 years in prison later that month.
Taylor Swift Meets Southport Survivors in ‘End of an Eras’ Docuseries
Swift got emotional in her Disney+ doc discussing the tragedy, further sharing why she wanted to meet the victims’ families.
“I swear to God, I’m not gonna do [cry]. I’m gonna be smiley,” she said in a confessional. “So any of this gets out of the way before you ever go on stage. You lock it off. [For] three and a half hours, they don’t have to worry about you.”
Swift continued, “You’re like a pilot flying the plane, and if you were like, ‘Oh, there’s turbulence up ahead. I don’t know if we’re actually gonna land in Dallas. I’m gonna try hard, but I don’t know if I can actually figure out how to land through this turbulence.’ Everyone on the plane is going to freak out. You just have to have a calm, cool, collected tone.”
How Taylor Swift First Broke Her Silence After the Southport Attack
Swift issued a statement via social media on July 30, 2024.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” she wrote via Instagram Story. “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.”
The first two episodes of End of an Era are currently streaming on Disney+.