Maya Thompson and Charisma Carpenter Courtesy of Maya Thompson/Instagram
Taylor Swift rolled out the red carpet for a special guest to attend one of her Eras Tour concerts in London.
The 34-year-old pop star, who headlined five concerts at Wembley earlier this month, offered a VIP experience to Maya Thompson, whose late son’s battle with cancer inspired Swift’s 2012 single “Ronan.”
“Last week, I was in London with [Charisma Carpenter] for something she was working on. The next thing I knew, we were in the Royal Suite at Wembley Stadium to watch the masterpiece that is the Eras Tour,” Thompson wrote via X on Saturday, August 24. “We were treated like royalty (literally). I am still trying to process what happened, the words said, and how I spent the evening dancing next to [Florence Welch.]”
Thompson added, “When I met @taylorswift13 for the first time thirteen years ago, she was 22-years-old. She was a 22-year-old baby with the emotional intelligence of someone wise beyond her years. She reached out to me, a mom who fought so hard through her son’s cancer diagnosis and then his death. She reached out because the love story between a mother and a child impacted her. I fell in love with a 22-year-old girl because of her bold, bleeding heart and genuine words — not because she was one of the biggest stars on the planet, but because she was just Taylor. Since then, it has been an endless stream of love that never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined.”
Swift initially learned of Ronan’s story via the “Rockstar Ronan” blog that Thompson kept during his cancer journey, which ended when Ronan died in 2011 at age 4. One day, Swift reached out to Thompson to reveal that she wrote a song in Ronan’s honor.
“In my opinion, one of the bravest things that a human being could ever do is to go through something absolutely unbearable and then share their experience with the world. And I think the braver you are, the more brutally honest you are,” Swift said during a 2017 performance of the song. “There’s a woman here tonight named Maya Thompson and she has lived in this area and brought her kids up in this area. And I wouldn’t know half as much as I know about childhood cancer and childhood cancer research if she hadn’t shared her story about her son Ronan.”
Taylor Swift Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images
Swift noted at the time that she read Thompson’s blog “every night,” adding that cancer has since “hit really close to [her].” (Swift’s mom, Andrea, previously battled breast cancer.)
In the years since, Swift has not publicly performed “Ronan” live in concert.
“This life without Ronan is painful beyond measure, but through experiences like this, I am reminded that he is everywhere,” Thompson concluded on Saturday. “Taylor tethered him to this world in a way I could have never done alone. I am forever grateful for the magic that exists, which I often cannot explain, but in my heart, I know it is because of Ronan and Taylor. He is still here, creating mischief, such as making it pour down rain as soon as we stepped out of Wembley Stadium that night.”
She added, “I am forever grateful for a love that transcends time and for you, Taylor Alison Swift. Thank you for still being here and never forgetting a little boy’s bright blue eyes. I love you to the moon and back.”
