Earlier this week, a series of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna were canceled after law enforcement announced the arrest of two men who were apparently plotting a terrorist attack against her concerts.
Swift was scheduled to appear at the city’s Ernst Happel Arena from Thursday to Saturday as part of her Eras tour, the Associated Press reported. On Wednesday, Barracuda Music, the event organizer for Swift’s concert, said via Instagram that the organization had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” adding , they have received “confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack” at the stadium. The company said ticket refunds will be made automatically.
The Associated Press reported that two “alleged extremists” were arrested for their role in the alleged plot, but their identities have not been made public. One of the suspects is a 19-year-old Austrian citizen who “is believed to have become radicalized on the Internet” and recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the outlet wrote.
According to reports, the 19-year-old potential ISIS member may be planning to use some kind of “chemical” to cause chaos. The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) pointed out that the bomb disposal team is currently “working to determine whether these materials can be used to make bombs.” The report added that authorities said the 19-year-old “purchased the chemicals but not all the components needed to assemble the bomb and likely would not have been able to do so before this weekend’s events.”
Somehow, Swift got caught up in the political chaos and extremist machinations around the world. Earlier this year, the US right-wing widely circulated the theory that Swift was a part of government psychological warfare, a Pentagon-led conspiracy to re-elect Biden as president. Then, just last week, three little girls were killed in a stabbing incident at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the UK. False rumors that the culprit was a Muslim asylum seeker spread widely on social media (especially Musk’s X), sparking nationwide riots. A few days ago, Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, was threatened by some crazy guy. Now, Swift’s own activities are being targeted. This isn’t the first time a celebrity has inspired this kind of unhinged frenzy, although the disturbing situation has been going on for a while.
