A DJ who lost his job after being accused of groping Taylor Swift during a meet-and-greet photo opportunity at one of her concerts has said that the photo looks “weird and awkward” but that he did not grab her buttocks as she alleged in her lawsuit against him.
Taylor Swift was allegedly groped by Denver radio DJ David Mueller as the pair posed for a photo with his girlfriend. He later lost his job with KYGO, and sued Taylor for $3 million in lost earnings. She countersued for sexual assault, and both suits are now being heard in one trial.
During his deposition in court on Wednesday, Mueller said that his hand was touching Tay’s skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms crossed. He said his hand was level with her ribs and “apparently it went down”.
Andrea Swift, the singer’s mother and part of her management team, took to the stand and said that she saw her daughter looking “shaken” and “humiliated” after the photo was taken, and that she felt sick on hearing of what happened.
She said that Mueller was promptly removed, and banned from further concerts but said that she did not call the police as she “did not want this event to define [her daughter’s] life,” worrying too that the picture might end up being lewdly altered on the internet.
New inspiration from office workers for #TaylorSwift“Haterz Gonna Hate” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8bdvrZnGo7
— Claudia Rosenbaum (@CJRosenbaum) August 9, 2017
Taylor Swift has not taken the stand in this case yet, but described the incident in a deposition made last year.
“Right as the moment came for us to pose for the photo, he took his hand and put it up my dress and grabbed onto my ass cheek and no matter how much I scooted over it was still there,” Taylor said. “It was completely intentional, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
Explaining how it made her feel, Taylor said: “I remember being frantic, distressed, feeling violated in a way I had never experienced before. A meet-and-greet is supposed to be a situation where you’re thanking people for coming, you’re supposed to be welcoming people into your home, which is the arena for that day, and for someone to violate that hospitality in that way, I was completely stunned.”
Taylor Swift’s lawyer is my new role model lol #TaylorSwiftTrial pic.twitter.com/0HcRzgJA2L
— Andrea Bezlaj (@AndreaBezlaj) August 9, 2017
After the alleged assault, the DJ was fired from his job, causing him to file a counter suit towards the pop star in 2015. He is looking for $3 million in lost earnings, prompting Taylor’s lawyer, Douglas Baldridge, to paint him as an opportunist attempting to make money from an assault and “to make the victim pay the price.”
Baldridge also questioned Mueller over whether he may have made himself unemployed by discussing the incident in his industry, and showed him pictures of several fans with Taylor at the same photo op, including men, who had their arms around the singer’s shoulders.
