Here's Why Girl In The Viral Taylor Swift 'Exile' Video Cried

If you have been on social media in the past few days, you would've stumbled on a video where a woman cried after hearing Taylor Swift perform "Exile" at the Night 3 of "The Eras" Tour stop in Sydney last week.

The video has since taken a life on its own after it has become a widespread meme all over social media. Many have criticized the woman crying dramatically after listening to a Taylor Swift song.

Girl In The Viral Taylor Swift 'Exile' Video Explains Lifechanging Moment

In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Madison Blackband, the woman behind the viral crying woman after hearing Taylor Swift's "Exile."

According to Blackband, she didn't know the video would reach millions because she posted it knowing it would only appeal to her 200 followers on the platform.

But everything changed when she opened Twitter/X - the video has gone viral, spurring hundreds of memes and negative reactions.

"I went on [Twitter] and the first thing that popped up was this video," she shared. "And I was like, 'Oh, it's happened.'"

Blackband received harsh opinions from people on social media, primarily criticizing her for overreacting upon realizing it was her favorite song. Some even dragged her friends, who seemed to try their very best not to laugh at the shocking situation.

Many even claimed she was performing in front of the camera when she tried to look good while bawling herself out on the video.

But for Blackband, it was an honest reaction to her favorite song.

Here's Why Girl In The Viral Taylor Swift 'Exile' Video Cried

Sharing to Rolling Stone, Blackband explained why she cried after realizing Taylor Swift was performing "Exile" for one of her surprise songs.

"There's no point letting it upset me. I reacted the way I reacted," she says. "I know my friends weren't judging me. That's just me. 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."

Apparently, it was Blackband's favorite song ever.

"[Exile] means a lot to me," she admitted. "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."

Blackband has since turned off the post's comments, blocking off any negativity from people.

"To me, it was meant to be a positive thing and I think people are trying to turn it into a negative thing. I don't need it to go away or anything because it's not affecting me. But, I'm just not going to give them the platform to do that on," she added.

Watch the video below.

Tags

Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour