Ariana Grande’s life changed after a suicide bomber carried out an attack at her concert in Manchester, England, in May 2017 — and Taylor Swift felt the horrifying effects as well.
Swift, 29, told Elle magazine that the Manchester attack and the deadly shooting that took place at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas less than five months later were her “biggest fear[s]” coming to life.
“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,” the “Delicate” singer wrote in an essay published on Wednesday, March 6. Her 53-date Reputation Stadium Tour started in Glendale, Arizona, in May 2018, and concluded in Tokyo in late November.
The Grammy winner continued: “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
Swift also admitted that her “fear of violence” has also made its way into her “personal life.” She explained, “I carry 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.”
But while the Cats actress has to keep her guard up, she tries not to let negativity get her down. “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,” she noted. “We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears.”
Grande, 25, penned a letter to her fans in November 2018 regarding the fatal Manchester attack, which left 22 people dead and at least 500 injured. “May 22, 2017, will leave me speechless and filled with questions for the rest of my life,” the “No Tears Left to Cry” singer — who got a bumblebee tattoo in honor of the city — wrote. “I think of Manchester constantly and will carry this with me every day for the rest of my life.”
The former Nickelodeon star will return to U.K. city to perform at Manchester Pride Live this August. Grande faced backlash for being a straight artist headlining an LGBT event and for the ticket prices, but she quickly jumped in to defend herself.
“I have nothing to do with ticket pricing,” she tweeted on February 27. “The lgbtq community has been so special to me and supportive throughout my entire career … I want to celebrate and support this community, regardless of my identity or how people label me. And also i wanna visit a city that means so much to me.”
