Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour may have looked perfect from the outside, but there was plenty of difficulty behind the scenes that fans didn’t know was happening.
In episode 3 of Swift’s Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era, background vocalist Jeslyn Gorman revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during the tour.
“Jeslyn is one of the most talented, resilient, loving people I’ve been around,” Swift, 36, gushed during the Friday, December 19, episode. “She was the newest addition to our backup singers.”
Gorman joined Swift’s team for the Reputation tour in 2018 and returned for The Eras Tour, which kicked off in March 2023. She initially continued touring as she learned which treatments she needed.
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“When Jeslyn got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally,” Swift recalled. “It was, like, completely unfathomable to us. … I’ll never forget when she told us, everyone was just in shambles. And it’s the not knowing.”
Between Eras Tour shows, which all took place on weekends, Gorman flew home to Los Angeles for medical appointments.
“Obviously, it was devastating,” she said. “[I] had biopsies and [got] poked and prodded to learn really what I had to do treatment-wise, and then hopped back on stage and pretended like nothing was happening.”
Her famous boss, however, was completely supportive.
“When I let Taylor know, she came storming in with hugs and crying and just saying, ‘I’m so sorry,’” Gorman said. “And her mom said, ‘You just take care of you, and we’ll be here when you’re ready.’”
Gorman ultimately took six months off for chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatment.
“I had edema, I had skin issues,” she recalled. “I usually have all this curly hair. I lost about 75 percent of my hair. I felt and looked completely different and just kind of watched my friends on livestreams in the show.”
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Wardrobe team member Jestina O’Dell added, “It was a hard one, because we got to come be together for months. She was home by herself, isolated from the [tour] family.”
Swift made sure Gorman knew that “no matter what, under any circumstances, if she wanted to come back she could.”
Gorman did just that, rejoining the tour almost as soon as she was finished with radiation and working diligently to get back into shape.
“Just coming back to this joy-filled show and these people just emphasized even more how much we’re a family,” the vocalist explained.
Swift, meanwhile, was in awe of Gorman’s determination to return to work.
“I cannot believe that she was back in a few months,” the Grammy winner marveled. “The will to come back and do the hardest show ever, none of us could believe it. I still can’t.”
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Throughout The End of an Era, Swift’s crew members were quick to gush about the close relationships they develop while out on the road.
“There is such a special bond among the touring family,” bassist Amos Heller explained. “It’s like having another family. They’re the only people really in the world who know what this is like.”
Swift agreed, adding, “It’s so wonderful being able to carry a professional family with you as you go through phases of life, as you go through ups and downs and heartbreaks.”
The first four episodes of Taylor Swift: The End of an Era are now streaming on Disney+. Episodes 5 and 6 will premiere Tuesday, December 23.
