A Taylor Swift fan has been criticized for screeching at one of the singer's concerts, with a social media user comparing the sound to an exorcism.
The pop superstar has just wrapped the Australian leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. She completed a series of shows in Melbourne from February 16 to 18, where she played to 96,000 people at each of the three concerts. She then performed sold-out shows in Sydney from February 23 to 26.
Now a video has gone viral of a concertgoer screaming the lyrics to "August" while Swift performed the Folklore song at one of her Sydney shows.
The video was shared to X, formerly Twitter, by user @perfectlyfine89, who said the screaming sounded like an exorcism.
"Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but there is absolutely NO reason to act like you're having an exorcism at a Taylor Swift concert. Singing along and the occasional screaming is cool, but this?! I'd actually cry if someone was SCREECHING next to me the entire concert," the user wrote.
The clip originally had been posted to TikTok by user @andreastreicher, who wrote, "Went for Taylor, listened to a 12 year old scream for 3 hours instead."
At the time of writing, the video had 6.6 million views on TikTok, and users took to the comments to express their disapproval.
"OMG. 🫢🫢🫢 At first I thought 'there's no way it could be *that* bad' and the. It was WORSE. I'm so sorry," one person commented.
"I am going to see her in two months and this is my biggest fear," another said.
"After paying that much money I'd be livid and would have either looked for an usher, a parent or went in for a chat. Impossible for me to not get completely worked up and mad," a user wrote.
Another commenter added, "It's such a calming song too."
On X, where the post had 1.4 million views at the time of writing, users likewise posted comments criticizing the concertgoer.
"I get obnoxious screaming and being passionate but THIS is insane," one wrote.
"One of my favorite things about Taylor's songs is they rest nicely in my vocal range and I like to actually sing them. Kind of bewilders me when people will screech or even just yell the song. It's like they are fighting to be the loudest bc somehow that makes them the best fan," another said.
"Ugh, can't stand people who ruin the concert experience for others," a user commented.
Another commenter said they would have been upset because of "how expensive those tickets are."
The tour has been a success for Swift. The singer became a billionaire in 2023, in large part because of the Eras Tour, for which she earns about $10 million per show. It has already become the highest-grossing live music tour of all time and is expected to make more than $2 billion by the end of its 151-show run.
The previous record holder was Sir Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which earned $939 million over five years and 328 shows.
Her concert movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour made $92 million in its first weekend alone and became the highest-grossing domestic concert film of all time.
Swift's next stop on her Eras Tour is Singapore, where she will perform six shows from March 2 to 9.
Newsweek contacted a spokesperson for Swift via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. She reports on film and TV, trending ... Read more
