Summary: In Denver, Taylor Swift took the stand today in court.
“I felt him grab on to my bare ass cheek.” That was Taylor Swift’s account of the alleged sexual assault she had experienced in 2013 at a Denver meet-and-greet, and she added, “It was a definite grab, a very long grab.”
On Thursday, the mega-successful singer testified in federal court in Denver, according to Fox News. She and former local DJ David Mueller are involved in a nasty civil case where he said she wrongfully accused him and she claimed that he had groped her after a concert.
In the courtroom, the singer said that Mueller grabbed onto her booty and “would not let go” during a photo op at a post-concert meet-and-greet.
“He stayed latched onto my bare ass cheek as I lurched away from him quite quickly,” Swift, 27, said.
Swift said that she had told her photographer Stephanie Simbeck about the grab minutes after the incident, and that she had not immediately left because she did not want to leave her fans high and dry.
On the stand, Swift said that Greg Dent, a security guard, had seen Mueller lift up her skirt and grab her; but she said that no one could see his hand on her butt because both of them had their backs to a wall.
TMZ had released the photo in question that Swift said proves Mueller had grabbed her. (See below.)
In the photo, Mueller’s girlfriend at the time Shannon Melcher, Swift, and Mueller pose with awkward smiles. Mueller’s hand is low, but it is unclear whether or not her skirt is lifted in the back.
On Wednesday, Mueller and Taylor Swift’s mother testified.
Mueller said that during the photo op with Swift that he had touched her ribs and not her rear. He said that he had touched her skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms got crossed.
Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, cried on the stand as she revealed that she had told her daughter not to call the police because she didn’t want the incident to define Taylor Swift’s life.
Instead of going to the police, Swift had notified Mueller’s employer who promptly fired the country music DJ, 55, after an internal investigation. Mueller then sued Swift and her mother and asked for $3 million in damages. He claimed that he had not groped the singer and that she had probably mistaken him for someone else. In response, Swift filed her own civil lawsuit, alleging sexual assault and seeking $1.
The dollar was a message to Mueller that this was not about money but about proving his guilt. During the trial, Swift was asked about what she thought of Mueller’s firing, and she confidently said that was not her concern.
“I’m not going to allow you or your client to make me feel in any way that this is my fault, because it isn’t,” Swift said.
Swift’s legal team said that there is no reason for her to go after Mueller or make up the story because she had no incentive.
Mueller is represented by attorney Gabriel McFarland. Swift is represented by attorney Doug Baldridge.
The jury consists of six women and two men.