Taylor Swift has emotionally opened up about the “violent” and “scary” Southport attack last year, breaking down in tears as she spoke about the tragic deaths. In July last year, three young girls were killed and ten children injured Axel Rudakubana, 17, attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Southport, Merseyside in a mass stabbing spree.
Bebe King, six and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died at the scene from their injuries, while Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, died in hospital the following day. Rudakubana was sentenced to life in prison for their murders with judge Mr Justice Goose calling it “the most extreme, shocking and exceptionally serious crime”.
Speaking about the incident in her new documentary, End of an Era, Taylor said: “We’ve had a series of violent, scary things happen to the tour like we dodged a massacre situation and so I’ve just been all over the place.
“There was this horrible attack at a Taylor Swift themed dance party and it was little kids,” she said, as she became upset. Through tears, she whispered: “I have a hard time explaining it.”
Still crying, Taylor spoke about meeting the families of the victims at one of her upcoming gigs. “I’m gonna meet some of these families tonight and put on a pop concert, you know? I’m gonna be fine because when I meet them, I’m not gonna do this I swear to god. I’m gonna be smiling.
“So any of this gets out of the way, before you ever go on stage, you lock it off. Three and a half hours, they don’t have to worry about you.
“It’s like you’re a pilot flying the plane and if you were like, ‘There’s turbulence up again, I’m don’t know if we’re actually going to land in Dallas. I’m going to try hard but I don’t know if I can actually land in this turbulence.’ Everyone on the plane is going to freak out. You have to have a calm, collected tone.”
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Taylor was midway through her record-breaking Eras tour when the attack happened, with the pop star releasing a statement on social media the day after. “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I’m just completely in shock,” she wrote.
“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 documentary marks the first time that Taylor has spoken about the horrific incident on camera.
Taylor Swift: End of an Era follows the American pop star as she embarks on her international tour, which began in March 2023 and ended in December the following year.
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