Taylor Swift Accuses DJ of Grabbing My Ass in Court Testimony

September 2024 · 5 minute read

Taylor Swift did not sugarcoat her testimony Thursday in the trial around a “horrifying and shocking” 2013 incident in which she claims a former radio DJ intentionally groped her.

“What Mr. Mueller did was very intentional,” Swift said, according to CNN, in answer to questions from Gabriel McFarland, an attorney for David Mueller, the radio host who was fired shortly after the incident. “I am critical of your client for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass.”

The trial is examining an incident that took place during a meet-and-greet before a 2013 Denver concert in which Swift claims Mueller, then a DJ for KYGO, groped her buttocks; Mueller has steadfastly denied her claims and sued Swift and her team for $3 million in damages. Swift countersued for a symbolic $1, saying she wants the case to serve as an example and inspiration for victims of sexual assault.

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Mueller has maintained that he did not grope the singer. Swift’s attorney David Baldridge told the jury that Greg Dent, the singer’s bodyguard, testified in a deposition that he saw Mueller lift Swift’s skirt as they were posing for a photo. In cross-examination by Baldridge on Wednesday, Mueller admitted that his arm’s position behind Swift in the photo is “weird and awkward” and said his hand was touching the singer’s skirt, but insists that he never groped her. He said his hand was initially at the level of her rib cage and “apparently it went down.”

On Thursday, Swift maintained: “This is what happened, it happened to me, I know it was him,” Swift said. “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. I am being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions and not mine,” she added later.

When viewing the photograph at the center of the incident, Swift said, “Gabe, this is a photo of him with his hand up my skirt — with his hand on my ass,” she said. “You can ask me a million questions — I’m never going to say anything different. I never have said anything different.”

When McFarland asked the singer why the front of her skirt did not appear to be lifted in the phone, she said, “Because my ass is located in the back of my body.” McFarland also noted that Swift was closer to Mueller’s girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, who also appears in the photo, than him. “Yes, she did not have her hand on my ass,” Swift replied.

The trial is expected to last nine days.

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