Taylor Swift Explains Why She Stayed Silent on Vienna Terror Plot

Now that her European Eras Tour has come to a close, Taylor Swift is finally ready to address those canceled Vienna shows. In early August, Swift was forced to cancel the three concerts she had planned in the Austrian city after local officials discovered a planned terrorist attack. But it wasn’t until her lengthy August 21 Instagram post recapping the euro-tour that Swift addressed the cancellations—as well as why she’d been silent about them for so long.

“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating,” Swift wrote. “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.”

Swift continued in her caption that she felt she needed to pour all of her energy into making sure that her London shows, which were next on the schedule, would be completely safe for all attendees. She also clarified that, even though she might be criticized for remaining silent about having to cancel tour dates, she was only looking out for the safety of her fans.

“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,” she wrote. “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.”

Swifties had been divided on Taylor Swift’s silence about the canceled Vienna shows. On one side of the debate were those who felt that her nonresponse was disrespectful to all of the fans who might have had to save up the money, take off work, or make extensive travel plans to see her, especially when Swift was so publicly celebrating with her team and continuing to heavily promote and sell her music and merch. On the other hand, there were those who wanted to give Swift the time to deal with her own emotional state after hearing of the terror threat.