Taylor's Speech before Long Live in Tampa, FL on August 14, 2018

"“So, I just went to, just looking back, this exact day a year ago, I was not playing a sold-out stadium in Tampa, I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado, and um, honestly, I was there for a sexual assault case, and this day a year ago was the day that the jury decided in my favor, and said that they believed me. And I really, I’m not, I don’t want to, I just want to think about all the people who weren’t believed or who haven’t been believed, or who are afraid to speak up because they don’t think they will be believed. And I just want to say that I’m sorry to everyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would take if people hadn’t believed me when I said that something had happened. And I just wanted to say that we have so, so, so much further to go, and I’m so grateful for you guys for being there for me during what was a really, really horrible part of my life. So I just wanted to say that, and to thank you for everything, and to thank you for, I know that when I meet you guys in meet-and-greet before and after shows, and you tell me about the hard times you’ve gone through in your lives, and I just appreciate you trusting me with that information. And you’ve seen me going through the ups and downs of my life, just due to the public nature of the way my life is, and I wanted to say I’m so happy to see you and to have you and to know you through the ups and the downs of my life, so thank you for everything. [crying] Sorry, I just haven’t really talked about it, and I’m just really not composed at all. So uh, a while ago, I wrote a song, that’s about how I feel when you guys all come together and are so wonderfully supportive and incredible, and so for me, this song is always, always going to be about you, ups and downs, win or lose, you guys have always been there for me, so thank you so much for that.”