A concertgoer has sparked internet outrage after pictures of a baby placed on the floor of a Taylor Swift concert in Paris went viral.
Taylor Swift performed at a total of four concerts in Paris as part of her Eras Tour. The concerts, which began on May 9, saw an overall footfall of around 180,000 fans. It is unclear on which of the four nights the picture of the baby was taken.
The photo, which has been making rounds on social media, shows the baby placed on the floor of the Paris La Défense Arena and surrounded by beer cups and merchandise from the concert. Several concertgoers can also be seen standing around the child.
The post attracted criticism on social media platform X. One of the posts stated, “You belong in a jail cell for bringing your baby on the floor of a Taylor Swift concert. the lack of common sense is astonishing to me.”
Another user wrote, “Bringing a baby to a concert is mind-blowing because of the inappropriate noise levels for babies’ underdeveloped ears.” Yet another user wrote on X, “Whoever left that baby on the floor of the pit of the Taylor Swift concert needs to have their child taken off them.”
“A baby should NOT be brought to a concert, I know concerts will say “for all ages” but to bring a baby where everyone is screaming and music is blasting and leaving them on the floor is so irresponsible,” wrote an individual. “It’s so dangerous for this poor baby. The noise and the fact he’s here on the floor and people could hurt him,” said another.
Some netizens even took to directly attacking fans of Taylor Swift, who commonly call themselves “Swifties,” as a response to the incident. “That’s behavior that should warrant CPS removing the child from the home I feel. If there would’ve been a crowd surge when the lights dropped that baby would’ve been a pancake. Because people at a concert aren’t watching for a literal BABY ON THE FLOOR,” a user commented.
Netizens Defend Taylor Swift and ‘Swifties’
Conversely, many have tried to point out that the situation the baby was in was not as bad as it is being made out to be, “That’s a baby with soundproof headphones on and a circle surrounding it and is on a pile of fabric- ummm, I don’t see this as bad as the captions claim. Worry about the child that’s truly being neglected as the headline clickbait it’s claiming.”
Some netizens have also come forward to defend the defamation of Taylor Swift’s fanbase over this incident while simultaneously pointing out the concerns the picture has raised. “It wasn’t the whole fandom that brought that child, it was the parents. instead of calling out “swifties” maybe call out the parents that brought the baby to the concert, and put them on the floor in the extremely crowded pit,” one individual pointed out.
“That’s not Taylor’s fault, that’s the fault of the irresponsible mother who brought the baby to the stupid concert,” wrote another.