Taylor Swift Addresses Ticketmaster’s Eras Tour Presale Controversy

Taylor Swift has shared a statement in response to the ongoing criticism surrounding Ticketmaster’s handling of the Eras Tour presale.

In an Instagram Stories update on Friday, Swift noted she’s long been “extremely protective” of her fans, adding that she finds it “really difficult” to trust those outside her team when it comes to sharing this vision.

“There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward,” Swift said, as seen below. “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could.”

Swift also addressed the reported stats behind the presale event in question, revealing mixed feelings.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” Swift said, adding that those who remained ticketless following the widely criticized debacle will have “more opportunities” to attend shows in the future.

As previously reported, Ticketmaster ultimately issued a statement amid the blowback to the presale event, claiming that more than 3.5 million people pre-registered for the associated Verified Fan program, which marked what the company said was the biggest such registration ever.

Meanwhile, a general on-sale originally slated for Friday was called off. Also on Friday, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department launched an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, earlier this year.