The internet could not “calm down” after a photograph of an infant laid out on the floor of a Taylor Swift concert went viral.
The image left fans outraged over the moment from the 34-year-old hitmaker’s Eras Tour show in Paris.
In the now-viral picture, the baby is seen unassumingly lying down between revelers and concert-goers, who were grooving to the pulsating beats of the Grammy winner at La Défense Arena on Friday, May 10.
The internet was stunned to see a baby lying on the floor during Taylor Swift's concert in Paris
Image credits: Taylor Swift
A whirlwind of reactions was triggered by the picture of the little one among a sea of Swifties.
“Not to be one of those people but I would genuinely call security if I saw a baby in the pit because it is NOT safe there,” one social media user reportedly wrote online in a since-deleted tweet.
“Wtf…wouldn’t a baby find it overwhelming too, it looks like they may have ear protectors on but even so it wld still be loud, chaotic, lots of movement & flashing lights etc :/ I don’t see the point in taking a baby to a concert tbh they are not gonna even know what’s going on,” read another comment.
“How could they even think that bringing a baby in these kind of events is a good idea wth,” one said, while another chimed in, “Can’t imagine how stressful it must have been for the baby to be in that environment.”
“As a mom of a baby that’s about this size, i couldn’t imagine being [sic] them into a concert at all. i understand sitters are hard to find, so if you really needed to bring them, you shouldn’t be in the pit. you should have a carrier for them, and the baby needs ear protection,” another added.
"Can’t imagine how stressful it must have been for the baby," one social media user said
Image credits: whatamind13
Another wrote, “Literally if there was an emergency and everyone had to rush to exit that baby would get stepped on or injured. It’s literally so upsetting to me I can’t even.”
Following the incident, the venue said minors are under the responsibility of their legal guardian while attending a concert at La Défense Arena.
“General terms and conditions of sale stipulate that all minors (without any age limit) holding a ticket for a concert at Paris La Défense arena must be accompanied by an adult. Under 18 children remain under their legal guardian responsibility, it’s venue policy. For spectators with a young child in the floor, an alternative seating arrangement has been proposed but refused by ticket holders,” a rep for La Défense Arena told Page Six.
Netizens also expressed concern about what could have happened to the baby in case of an emergency
Image credits: whatamind13
The Fortnight singer kicked off the European leg of her Eras Tour on May 9 with four concert dates in Paris, marking her first concerts after the release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, last month.
The album broke records since its April 19 release, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day on Spotify and making Taylor the most-streamed artist in a single day on the music-streaming platform.
Within the first week of the release, the album also saw a record-breaking 2.61 million equivalent album units earned—including downloads, streams, and CD, vinyl, and cassette sales, according to Billboard.
“My mind is blown. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album,” she said. “2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed. I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS?? May 9th can’t come soon enough.”
Riding on the success of her new album, the Fearless singer kicked off her Paris shows last week and said the memories were “so magical.”
"I wish I could have toured Europe more. This is a dream crowd," the Pennsylvania-born singer told her Paris audience during an electrifying show.
"You were the first crowd to see songs from The Tortured Poets Department," she said and added, "Or, as I like to call it, 'Female Rage: the Musical.'"
The Fortnight singer kicked off the European leg of her Eras Tour with four dates in Paris, marking her first shows since the release of her album, The Tortured Poets Department
Image credits: Taylor Swift
The singer-songwriter penned a heartwarming post following her Paris shows and thanked her fans for all their “excitement, passion, and love.”
“This post is dedicated to the new Tortured Poets section of the Eras Tour (aka Female Rage The Musical!) and everyone who made these memories so magical,” the Midnights album maker wrote on Instagram.
“To my crew, fellow performers, and band who worked tirelessly in their break to concoct this surprise for you - but mostly for the fans in Paris,” she continued. “I’m so thankful that it was you we got to show this to for the first time because you gave us so much excitement, passion, and love. I’m SO fired up to play this for every crowd on the tour. See you very soon, Stockholm!”
As Taylor’s 18-city European leg of the Eras Tour began, tickets for the La Défense Arena were sold out in less than an hour, according to Frédéric Longuépée, CEO of the arena.
Frédéric also noted that about one-fourth of the tickets were bought by Americans.
“To the best of my understanding, a lot of Americans chose to come to Paris to attend this show and obviously visit our beautiful city,” Frédéric told NBC News.
“Something like 25–30%” of the crowd were Americans, “which is big,” he added.
Experts estimate that about one-fourth of the concert-goers attending the European shows could be travelers coming from North America
Image credits: Taylor Swift
After paying around $1,500 each for a ticket for herself and her mother, 21-year-old Kennedy Smith skipped her college graduation to attend the Eras Tour show in Paris instead.
It was “nothing short of a miracle,” Kathleen said, calling the entire experience the “trip of a lifetime.”
“This is my graduation-from-college gift at Texas A&M,” she added. “And I’ve always wanted to come to Europe. ... And then to be seeing Taylor Swift, it’s just a dream come true.”
The Love Story singer’s next stop on the tour is Stockholm, where thousands of attendees are expected to come from the U.S.
“They said, 'Wait a minute, I can either spend $1,500 to go see my favorite artist in Miami, or I can take that $1,500 and buy a concert ticket, a round-trip plane ticket, and three nights in a hotel room,” Melanie Fish, an Expedia spokesperson and travel expert, said about North American residents traveling to Europe to see the pop star perform live.
"Don't bring babies to concerts," the internet said after a picture of an infant on the floor went viral after Taylor Swift's Paris show
