A hysterical Swiftie has been ridiculed online after suffering a breakdown outside Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Sydney.
Madison Blackband, 20, was sitting outside Accor Stadium with two of her friends on Sunday night when she heard the singer perform the folk hit Exile as a surprise song in the setlist.
Immediately after hearing the first chords of the ballad, the Brisbane model burst into tears and wailed at the top of her lungs before collapsing into her friend’s arms.
Her two friends seemed to awkwardly hold back their laughter for a few moments as they comforted the inconsolable blonde.
Taylor Swift superfan Madison Blackband (centre) has been ridiculed online after suffering a breakdown outside the singer’s Eras concert tour in Sydney.
Blackband was sitting outside Accor Stadium with two of her friends on Sunday night when she heard Swift perform Exile, which made her cry.
Her two friends seemed to hold back their laughter awkwardly for a few moments as they comforted the inconsolable blonde.
Swift wrapped up the Australian leg of her Eras tour on Monday after playing to more than 600,000 fans in Melbourne and Sydney.
Blackband shared a video of the emotional incident on TikTok, captioning it: “My reaction when Taylor sang Exile (aka the song that saved my life).”
The clip was then reposted on X, formerly Twitter, where it received a scathing reception.
“The way both friends are looking at each other like ‘DON’T laugh’ is sending me the fuck up,” one posted.
“You will never see me FILMING this and posting it for the world to see,” added another.
“Mental illness is not the crying, which is fake, it’s the filming of the fake crying,” someone else theorized. “The theatricality and narcissistic ownership of a song that someone wrote without you in mind.”
Despite the backlash, several Swifties took to social media to defend Blackband’s emotional display.
‘You are all so bad. I mean, have some fucking EMPATHY, my God,” one fumed.
People on social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter, mocked Blackband’s collapse.
A handful of other X users jumped to Blackband’s defense and asked for empathy
‘Why are you so nasty about this in the comments? She clearly said that the song helped her in the past,” wrote another.
‘She’s overwhelmed. I could be sad, happy… it’s not your place to consider someone’s emotions wrong, especially with (Taylor).’
Blackband herself also responded to the backlash in a post on X, admitting that she herself agreed with some of her critics, but urged them to be kinder in their approach.
‘I literally AGREE that it’s funny, very dramatic and that I need to go to a psych ward like it’s nothing… no normal person reacts to something like that, but why be so GENUINELY bad?’ She published.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Blackband explained his decision to film his dramatic reaction for social media.
‘The song has a very deep meaning to me and I appreciate the story that is told through it. “A lot of fans had been recording their reactions to listening to the acoustic section of the show, so we thought we’d do the same,” she said.
‘Being outside, it was a little difficult for me to hear what song was playing during the second half of the acoustic set. “I noticed one of my friends started mouthing the lyrics to ‘Exile’ and suddenly I was overcome with emotions,” she continued.
‘At first, I was upset because I wasn’t inside the stadium to see it… but being surrounded by my friends who knew how important “Exile” was to me meant a lot. “I’m glad they were there with me.”
Blackband later insisted that her two friends were not ashamed of her despite cruel online comments claiming otherwise.
The Brisbane-based model is seen posing for a photo with producer Finneas last year.
Blackband addressed the backlash and criticized online trolls for being unnecessarily ‘mean’
‘Contrary to what many of the comments on the video say, my friends were not judging me. They are also very passionate about Taylor’s music,” she said.
‘Although my reaction has been labeled “over the top” and “dramatic”, it was not planned and was not a fake reaction just to get “views.” In fact, I’ve been laughing along with many of the memes created from the video and I’m not upset or embarrassed by the comments made.
Swift wrapped up the Australian leg of her Eras tour on Monday after playing to more than 600,000 fans in Melbourne and Sydney.
The star’s loyal fans, known as Swifties, have earned a reputation for their emotional antics, including hysterical meltdowns in public and uncontrollable crying.
During an appearance at The Grove in Los Angeles last October to promote her concert film Eras, a handful of Swift’s fans burst into tears as soon as they saw the singer in person.
The Cruel Summer singer was seen walking down a barricade filled to the brim with her fans, taking the time to chat with many of them, hug them and even take selfies with some.
Many of the fans were overcome with emotion, bursting into tears or covering their mouths in shock as Taylor greeted them.
Others maintained their composure, only to burst into sobs as soon as she walked away.