Newly released documentary footage from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour reveals the pop star in tears after privately meeting with survivors and families affected by the Southport stabbing tragedy.

The meetings took place backstage at London's Wembley Stadium during Swift's final European performances in August 2024, months after the devastating incident that occurred on July 29, 2024. The attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop claimed the lives of three young girls: nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and six-year-old Bebe King. Eight additional children and two adults were also injured during the rampage carried out by teenager Axel Rudakubana.

According to the documentary footage featured in the new Disney+ docuseries titled "The End of an Era," Swift struggled emotionally in the hours leading up to the meetings. Speaking from her hotel in London, the musician expressed her difficulty processing the tragedy while maintaining the strength needed to perform.

"There was this horrible attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party, and it was little kids," she said.

Despite her visible distress, Swift told herself she would not cry during the actual meetings with the families. However, after meeting with the survivors and families, Swift returned to her dressing room visibly overcome with emotion. Her mother, Andrea Swift, was present to console her daughter, offering reassurance about the impact of the meetings.

"I know you helped them. It may not seem that way, but I know you helped them," Andrea said.

The documentary captures Swift's vulnerability during an extraordinarily difficult period of the tour. She had also dealt with a foiled terror plot in Vienna that forced her to cancel scheduled performances just weeks prior to the Southport meetings.

The primary suspect in that threat was a 19-year-old Austrian citizen named Beran A., who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State leader on July 7, 2024, and uploaded his oath via Telegram. He had been radicalized online and inspired by the Islamic State Khorasan (ISK), per the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point. The suspect had hoped to "kill as many people as possible."

The documentary premiered on Disney+ on December 12, 2025.

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Taylor Swift, Eras Tour