Australian Swiftie Speaks Out After Her Emotional Reaction to Taylor Swift Performing ‘Exile’ Goes Viral

“There’s no point letting it upset me,” says Madison Blackband. “I reacted the way I reacted.”

Taylor Swift fans are famously passionate people, as demonstrated in that viral video of one Swiftie sobbing over the pop star’s surprise song performance of “Exile” at one of her Eras Tour shows in Sydney.

But while some people may criticize such displays of emotion, especially where celebrities such as Swift are concerned, Madison Blackband — the fan featured in the clip — feels no need to apologize for being herself. “There’s no point letting it upset me,” the 20-year-old Brisbane local told Rolling Stone Wednesday (Feb. 28) of the negative reactions she’s encountered since going viral. “I reacted the way I reacted.”

“That’s just me,” she continued. “I’m just a passionate person. The opinion of people thinking that it’s embarrassing and stuff doesn’t mean anything to me because I never thought it was and I’m not going to think it is now just because someone says I should. I understand why people are laughing at it. I laughed at the video myself once I first watched it back.”

In the video, which has since been critiqued and repurposed into various memes countless times on X, Blackband sits outside of Accor Stadium between two friends. When she hears Swift play the opening notes of her Folklore Bon Iver duet, she collapses into one friend’s lap and starts bawling loudly and uncontrollably.

“My reaction to Taylor singing Exile (also known as the song that saved my life),” she captioned the video, which she originally posted on TikTok Sunday (Feb. 25).

“I posted it intending it for like 200 people, not millions,” Blackband explained to the publication. “[Exile] means a lot to me. It’s a song I’ve listened to when I needed anything, as a distraction or to keep me focused. It’s like a safety blanket.”

Swift wrapped up her four-night stint in Sydney Monday (Feb. 26), closing out the Eras Tour‘s Australian leg, which also included three shows in Melbourne the week prior. Next up, the “Anti-Hero” singer will set up shop in Singapore for six nights beginning March 2 at National Stadium.

In a recent Instagram post, Swift reflected on her stay in Sydney, which she described as “a whirlwind of endless magical moments.” “I’m so grateful that we got to be the first tour to play Accor Stadium 4 times,” she wrote. “I’ll never forget singing with Sabrina [Carpenter], the chaotic acoustic mashups, and the crowds that were louder (singing AND screaming) than I thought humanly possible.”

See Blackband’s viral video below