Blake Lively Responds To Threat Against Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Shows

Blake Lively has broken her silence regarding the recent threats to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

Last week, after the initial arrests were made, Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl revealed that one of the suspects was taken into custody on suspicion of a planned attack and had engaged in "specific preparatory actions for a terrorist attack," and was targeting Taylor Swift's concerts.

On Thursday, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria's Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, confirmed that the 19-year-old suspect had confessed to planning a horrific attack at Taylor Swift's concert using "explosives and knives."

Allegations suggest that the suspects planned to drive a car into groups of Taylor Swift fans outside the concert venue and were found with homemade explosives.

In a TikTok video shared by Access Hollywood on Saturday, August 10, Lively was seen arriving on the red carpet at the London premiere of her new film "It Ends with Us." During the event, a reporter asked about her level of concern regarding "the Austria concerts."

“Oh my gosh. I mean, how terrifying,” Lively responded. “But thank goodness that they are completely on top of that."

As previously reported by The Blast, two men were arrested on Wednesday, August 7, in connection with a plot to target major events in Vienna, including Taylor Swift's upcoming concerts. One of the arrested individuals, a 19-year-old, was alleged to have pledged allegiance to ISIS.

In response to these threats, the concerts scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were canceled.

Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the suspected terrorist plot.

The suspects include an 18-year-old Iraqi national, a 19-year-old Austrian from a town near the Hungarian border, and a 17-year-old who had been employed by a company contracted to provide services for the Ernst Happel Stadium.

Police questioned a 15-year-old regarding his potential involvement in the plot. According to USA Today, Vienna-based Kurier newspaper reported the teenager was released after being interviewed as a witness and is not considered a suspect.

During a search of one of the suspects' homes, officials found "chemical substances, liquids, explosive and technical devices that could be used to manufacture explosives," said Franz Ruf, director general for public security. Bomb-making instructions and machetes were also found.

"He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made," according to national intelligence head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner.

Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf later revealed that the 19-year-old suspect resigned from his job on July 25, allegedly mentioning he had "something big" planned. According to authorities, he intended to detonate a device near the concert venue.

Additionally, the 17-year-old who was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in Vienna, had recently ended a relationship with his girlfriend.

According to Le Monde, Haijawi-Pirchner said, "His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert either today or tomorrow."

Authorities had estimated that approximately 65,000 fans would attend each of Swift's Vienna shows, with an additional 15,000 to 20,000 expected outside the stadium.

"It's a much more unstructured scene in which you have people who self-radicalize and sort of come together on online platforms, sometimes also offline," Lorenzo Vidino, director of the George Washington University's Program on Extremism, said, per ABC News. "But the online component is getting bigger over the last few years, and they activate themselves independently."

Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global financial institution ratings at Morningstar DBRS, estimated that the losses from the cancellations could reach tens of millions of dollars, per Fox Business. Two unnamed sources "involved in insurance for her tour" revealed that several insurers are expected to incur costs related to the cancellation of Swift’s shows at Ernst Happel Stadium.

However, Alvarez noted that insurance losses might be somewhat mitigated as the concerts have the potential to be rescheduled.

Between November 2022 and November 2023, the Eras Tour grossed $1.04 billion.