Taylor Swift’s Latest Show Malfunction Draws Fanfare

Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs onstage on the first night of her "Eras Tour" at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 31, 2023. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images

Swifties have united more than ever after pop artist Taylor Swift’s rapid reaction to the latest mishap during her Eras tour.

The singer’s swift response came when a trapdoor on a section of the stage failed to open and lower her down while performing her 2017 song “Look What You Made Me Do” during a June 30 show in Cincinnati.

In response, the pop diva sprinted off stage past her background dancers who were also making their way in the same direction. Presumably, she was making a quick wardrobe change.

This latest mishap follows another technical blunder, which occurred in late May during one of her Eras shows in Massachusetts. After an evening of heavy rain the night before when she played an entire gig and ended the show unscathed, the “Bad Blood” singer attempted to sit down and play her piano, only to hear it starting to play itself. It happened as she followed up her guitar performance of the song “I Think He Knows” with a rendition of “Red” on her upright piano, only to experience the presumably digital instrument play on its own.

“Do you hear that!? Is that happening for you, too!?” quipped Swift to the crowd, noting that the previous night’s rainstorm had literally broken her keyboard, which was “literally underwater.”

“I didn’t know how any of the instruments were working last night,” she continued, before deciding to abandon plans to play the clearly water-damaged keyboard and switch to guitar.

Later, Swift posted on Instagram “Last night we all danced together in the rain for the entire 3.5-hour show in foxy Foxborough MA!! We’ve had rain shows at Gillette Stadium before but this was a full on deluge that never let up, I just want to thank that iconic crowd!! Love you so much you have no idea.”

Still, another tour mishap in Chicago involved her accidentally swallowing a bug. That led the singer to joke “Is there any chance that none of you saw that? It’s fine, it’s all … I’ve swallowed it.”

And it was in April that she injured her hand backstage, which she also responded to on Instagram.

“I’m totally fine and it was my fault completely—tripped on my dress hem and fell in the dark backstage while running to a quick change—braced my fall with my palm,” she wrote. “It was all very Mercury in retrograde coded.”

Fans Bestow Tour Nickname As Celebrities Praise Swift

The multiple malfunctions have led some Swift fans to jokingly start referring to this as her “Errors” tour rather than the “Eras” tour, which is expected to gross more than a billion dollars.

Swift’s demeanor and musical talent led others like actress Toni Collette, who saw one of her shows in Cincinnati, to praise her performances.

“Thank you @taylorswift for the MOST INCREDIBLE night last night!!” wrote Collette on her Instagram page on July 2nd. “Your talent is immeasurable and your generosity boundless. Thank you for sharing it all with the world. You bring endless joy and inspiration to many, including me.”

According to Billboard, the actress is just one of many celebrities who have attended a show on tour. They include actresses Emma Stone, Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon, and Ellen Pompeo; and actors Ethan Hawke, Paul Rudd, and Bradley Cooper. Football player Aaron Rodgers has also been seen in attendance.

Swift has added dates in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.