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Taylor Swift spoke with candor following a planned terrorist attack on her show in Vienna.
She said in a statement on Instagram that: “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together.”
Taylor added: “I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London.
“My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us. Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows.
“In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.”
A source close to the pop star previously told The Mirror: “Taylor has been devastated by this. She is devastated for the fans who have been waiting for years to see her. But the thought of what could have happened if the concerts had been targeted by a terror attack is horrifying, and she would never risk the safety of her fans.”
The Taylor insider added: “The memory of what happened at Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester is still very vivid in everyone’s minds. But she has told her team that she wants to try to return to Vienna as soon as possible in the future. She is very conscious of how disappointed her fans in Austria are.
Local authorities took action to cancel the shows after the U.S. intercepted plans for an ISIS-linked terror attack timed with Taylor’s anticipated performances in Vienna. A young Austrian man, aged 19, was the first to be detained before another suspect was apprehended on Wednesday afternoon.
NBC News has been briefed by officials revealing a chilling plot: the attack was an apparent suicide bombing stratagem. “His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert,” disclosed DSN chief Omar Haijawi-Pirchner in a news briefing.
Associates of the arrested suspect apprehended for the thwarted terror strike at Taylor Swift’s gig were allegedly employed within the events security detail. These presumed accomplices had roles with both a private security firm and stewarding service organizing Swift’s showcase in Vienna.
