By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-15 22:12:21 | Updated at 2024-11-27 18:35:02
1 week ago
Taylor Swift has faced backlash online after a video surfaced of her receiving a police escort down a Toronto highway before performing at her sold-out Eras Tour.
Video caught the moment her motorcade traveled down the highway with no other cars in front.
Critics claimed the highway was 'shut down entirely' to 'clear it for Taylor Swift' - but police argued this was not the case.
'This is an obscene waste of taxpayers' money and hindrance to those same taxpayers, and dangerous because it's an obstacle for emergency services,' one critic wrote.
Footage showed the traffic lagging behind Swift's entourage with a 10- to 20-second delay.
A Toronto Police Department spokesperson said the highway was instead the subject of 'rolling closures', which are enforced for the safety of high-profile celebrities who arrive in the city.
'The escort of Taylor Swift yesterday is part of the overall security plan for her concert series in Toronto. The motorcade was largely made up of vehicles that are part of her own security – those large SUVs are not TPS vehicles,' the spokesperson said.
'We provided several motorcycles and scout cars for approximately 20 minutes to conduct rolling closures as they passed – there were no complete closures at any point.
Video caught the moment her motorcade traveled down the highway with no other cars in front
Swift will perform six sold out shows in Toronto to some 500,000 people
'Taylor Swift has a very large and active following, and for public safety reasons, we are facilitating her movements in the city.'
In Toronto, its standard practice for police to charge fees for police escorts, starting at $90 per hour per officer involved, and going up to $112.50 per hour.
A rolling closure means traffic is slowed and controlled in certain parts of the road to clear sections and create a short gap in the traffic.
A car roved between each of the lanes to prevent any of that traffic from speeding up and overtaking or catching up with Swift's team.
Traffic was, however, heavily banked up for motorists traveling in the opposite direction.
'Few things are worse than being stuck in gridlock for nothing,' one X user noted.
Others thought the treatment was equal to that a president would receive.
'She brought millions in revenue to Toronto its worth it,' one supporter said.
'It's fair because she is infusing almost $400 million into the local economy,' another agreed.
The singular line of cars - Swift's motorcade - had a 10 to 20 second head start on the remainder of traffic
She was greeted with roaring cheers when she took to Toronto's Roger Centre on Thursday night, telling the crowd: 'This is why everyone loves Canadians'
She performed to a sold-out crowd on Thursday night
Once Swift and her team broke off the highway, so too did the car stemming the flow of high speed traffic.
As the motorcade made its way into the stadium, crowds were milling on the road hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star.
Swift will perform six sold out shows in Toronto to some 500,000 people.
She was greeted with roaring cheers when she took to Toronto's Roger Centre on Thursday night, telling the crowd: 'This is why everyone loves Canadians.'
