Taylor Swift fan behind viral ‘Exile’ sobbing reaction video speaks out

A fan who went viral after posting a video of her crying at a Taylor Swift concert has spoken out about the response.

The moment took place during the pop star’s recent show at the Accor Stadium in Sydney over the weekend (February 25), which was her final ‘Eras’ tour date in Australia.

During the performance Madison Blackband, an Australian fan of Swift, shared a video to TikTok, showing her dramatically bursting into tears as the singer performed a rendition of ‘Exile’ – taken from her 2020 album ‘Folklore’.

“My reaction to Taylor singing ‘Exile’ (also known as the song that saved my life),” read the text over the footage.

Now, after accumulating over 1.1million views in less than a week, Blackband has spoken out about the response to the clip.

“I went on [X] and the first thing that popped up was this video. And I was like ‘Oh, it’s happened’,” she said during an interview with Rolling Stone, recalling how the clip was instantly reposted across other social media platforms. “I posted it intending it for like 200 people, not millions.”

At time of writing, Blackband has disabled the comment section on the original video, however, explained that she did it “not because I can’t handle what people were saying, but because I just don’t see the point”.

THIS IS TAKING ME OUT I’M SORRY😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/VMDrtHrKVO

— 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧💚 (@beyoncegarden) February 25, 2024

That being said, many users online have responded harshly to the video, and criticised the fan for being overdramatic, as well as calling out her friends who went to the show with her for not offering her enough support.

“There’s no point letting it upset me. I reacted the way I reacted. I know my friends weren’t judging me. That’s just me. I’m just a passionate person,” she told the outlet (via The Independent).

“The opinion of people thinking that it’s embarrassing and stuff doesn’t mean anything to me because I never thought it was and I’m not going to think it is now just because someone says I should… I understand why people are laughing at it. I laughed at the video myself once I first watched it back.”

She also opened up about her love for the song, saying that the 2020 track “means a lot” to her. “ It’s a song I’ve listened to when I needed anything, as a distraction or to keep me focused,” she explained. “It’s like a safety blanket.”

Taylor Swift is currently on a week-long break from her tour, and set to start the shows up again next week with a gig in Singapore.

In other Taylor Swift news, earlier today it was reported that a lawmaker in the Philippines criticised Singapore and Swift over their exclusive deal, which ensured that the island country was her only ‘Eras‘ tour stop in Southeast Asia.

“[This] isn’t what good neighbours do. Our countries are good friends. That’s why actions like that hurt,” said Philippines representative Joey Salceda during a new interview.

With the run of dates, the ‘Eras’ tour has made history by becoming the first tour to gross $1billion (£796million). Swift has now set the record for the highest-grossing tour of all time too, hitting the 10-digit threshold after 60 shows and eight months of being on the road.