Taylor Swift’s “biggest fear” almost came true.

As we previously reported, two men were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly planning terror attacks at events in Vienna, including one of the pop star’s Eras Tour shows this week. Thousands of fans planned to attend the concerts on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, so this could have been a massive tragedy if their plan hadn’t been stopped by the police in time — just like the horrific bombing during Ariana Grande’s show in Manchester. Or even the devastating mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

Related: 17-Year-Old Charged With Murders Of 3 Children Attending Taylor Swift Event

Manchester was shocking to the entire world. A suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured hundreds at the 7 Rings singer’s Danger Woman concert in the city back in May 2017. Sadly it wasn’t even the only massacre at a concert that year.

Just five months later, a man shot and killed 58 people at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Sin City. The devastating incidents rocked many people at the time, especially in the music industry — including Taylor. In fact, five years before this week’s scare, she admitted in a column for Elle in 2019 that the back-to-back tragedies made her “completely terrified” to tour again ahead of Lover Fest as her “biggest fear” was the possibility of a terrorist attack at her concert. Oof. She wrote at the time:

“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. There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”

Her “fear of violence” continued into her “personal life,” too. Following the two catastrophic events, Taylor said she even started to carry “QuikClot army grade bandage dressing” for “gunshot or stab wounds.” It’s heartbreaking she feared for her safety so much she had to take such extreme measures just in case. Sadly, her worries only increased as her personal information became easily accessible online to stalkers:

“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.”

Despite her concerns, Taylor tried to remember there is still “good in the world”, expressing at the time:

“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.”

And she didn’t let her “greatest fears” rule over her. Taylor fully planned to move forward with Lover Fest, but the shows were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A few years later, though, she embarked on her record-breaking The Eras Tour. Except for a scary incident with a stalker, everything was going smoothly out on the road. But as we mentioned, her international leg of the tour took a very scary turn due to the planned terror attack. Again, thankfully, the plot was thwarted before anyone got hurt. But out of an abundance of precaution, the three shows in Vienna are canceled now.

We cannot imagine how shaken Taylor must feel at this time — especially as this comes on the heels of the mass stabbing at a dance event themed around her in the UK. Our hearts go out to her and the Swifties in Vienna. We’re so glad everyone is safe. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know.

If you’re experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit their website at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline for more resources. 

To learn more about the impact of gun violence, visit https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence

[Image via CBS Sunday Morning/ABC News/YouTube]

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