Taylor Swift Testifies in Case vs. Denver DJ: ‘It Was a Devious and Sneaky Act’
On Thursday (Aug. 10), Taylor Swift took the stand to testify during the court hearing regarding her lawsuit vs. Denver, Colo., radio DJ David Mueller. The country-turned-pop superstar recalled the meet-and-greet incident during which Mueller allegedly assaulted her, and recounted her feelings about and response afterwards.
"It was a very long grab ... I felt him grab onto my bare ass under my skirt," Swift remembered during her testimony, according to Denver reporter Michael Konopasek. "It was a devious and sneaky act."
During her testimony, Swift remembered noticing that Mueller and his girlfriend, who attended the meet and greet with him, were acting as though they had been drinking. According to reporter Amanda Zitzman, Swift shared on the stand that, after the alleged incident, "I couldn’t make eye contact with either one of them [Mueller or his girlfriend]."
Swift explained that she reported the incident as soon as she was able to do so without fans nearby, and that she continued with the meet and greet after the incident so she didn't ruin fans' experiences.
"After this happened, it was like a light switched off my personality," Swift shared on the stand. "I don't want to ever see him again ... It happened to me. I know it was him."
Swift's testimony came on the third day of the trial. On Wednesday (Aug. 9), her mother, Andrea, took the stand to testify, recalling that her daughter told her about the incident in question in her dressing room after her concert that night (June 2, 2013).
“I knew there was something horribly wrong in that picture,” Andrea said, referencing the meet-and-greet photo that Swift took with Mueller and his girlfriend. “I know those eyes better than anybody. She was pulling away. She has that smile frozen on her face, but there’s something going on in her eyes. I just looked at it and I was sickened.”
Country Music's Nastiest Lawsuits
In September of 2015, Mueller filed a lawsuit against Swift for what he says are unfounded claims that he grabbed her bottom while taking a photo with her at a meet and greet. Mueller says he was unjustly fired from his job as a radio personality for KYGO and also lost prospective business opportunities because of the claims. A month later, Swift filed her own countersuit, saying that Mueller “intentionally reached under her skirt and groped with his hand an intimate part of her body in an inappropriate manner, against her will, and without her permission.”
In late 2016, Swift and her legal team filed a motion requesting that the case against her be dismissed because Mueller’s firing was the result of an internal investigation by KYGO, not any direct action by Swift. However, the former DJ fought back against that motion, calling his firing from the radio station due to the allegation the result of a “sham” investigation.
Also in late 2016, Swift filed a motion to restrict public access to some of the documents involved in her lawsuit, including a photo of the incident, as well as a description of the photograph, 12 pages of summary judgement and hundreds of supporting documents and photos. A judge ruled that the photo will remain sealed, but Swift’s deposition was released.
Most recently, a judge dismissed Mueller’s claims of slander and decided to allow the rest of the case to proceed. The judge also recently sanctioned Mueller for destroying pieces of key evidence in the lawsuit.
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