Taylor Swift said her “biggest fear” in life is a violent attack at one of her concerts in a resurfaced article penned by the singer in 2019.
Swift’s past remarks are perhaps more relevant than ever as three of her Eras Tour shows in Vienna, Austria, have just been canceled after local police uncovered and foiled an ISIS plot to attack the concerts.
The Grammy winner wrote her reflections on the possibility of an attack on one of her shows in the wake of the ISIS bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, and the mass shooting at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
Twenty-two people died at the Manchester concert, with 200 more injured, while 64 individuals died and 413 wounded at the Las Vegas massacre.
In the article she wrote for Elle in 2019, Swift thought back to 2018 when she was about to embark on her “Reputation” tour.
“My biggest fear. After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she said.
“There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
“My fear of violence has continued into my personal life,” she added, noting that she carried “QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds.”
“Websites and tabloids have taken it upon themselves to post every home address I’ve ever had online. You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things.”
She continued, “Every day I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I’ve witnessed and the faith I have in humanity.”
“We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears.”
News that police had thwarted the ISIS plot on Swift’s Vienna tour dates broke on Wednesday, August 7, just one day before she was set to start her three day stint in the Austrian capital. Authorities have since warned that there could still be other threats.
The “Cruel Summer” singer’s Austrian show promoter, Barracuda, announced the cancelation of the three shows on Instagram.
“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” they said, adding that all tickets would automatically be refunded within the next 10 business days.
Police arrested two suspects allegedly involved in the plot, according to the Austrian outlet Kronen Zeitung. One of the suspects has been identified as a 19-year-old Austrian national who reportedly became radicalized online and pledged his allegiance to ISIS in July.
A bomb squad entered the house that the suspect lives in with his parents just outside of Vienna and evacuated the home after they discovered chemicals and other substances that could have been used to make explosive devices.
“The suspects were focused on the Taylor Swift concerts,” Austrian Director General for Public Safety Franz Ruf said.
“We discovered that he was taking action to prepare for the attack,” he added, seemingly referring to the unnamed 19-year-old suspect. “A clear threat has been averted,” he said, noting that the authorities were still investigating the possibility that there were other accomplices involved in the plot, according to Kronen Zeitung.
Last month, violence struck a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, England. The knife attack perpetrated by a hooded 17-year-old resulted in the death of three young girls.
