Swift, DJ in court over claim of groping

By P. SOLOMON BANDA

Associated Press

DENVER

Taylor Swift and her support team didn’t call police after she said she had been groped by a Denver radio host during a photo session before a concert.

Instead, they called his boss, and David Mueller lost his job. The disc jockey later sued the singer-songwriter, saying he had been falsely accused and wanted $3 million in damages.

Swift countersued, claiming sexual assault, setting up a civil trial set to begin Monday in federal court in Denver that will largely turn on who the eight-member jury believes.

Both sides say no settlement is in the works.

The lawsuits provide differing accounts of backstage events before Swift performed at a 2013 concert at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Swift tried to keep the situation “discreet and quiet and confidential” and was upset by Mueller’s claim that “for some reason she might have some incentive to actually fabricate this story,” her attorney, Douglas Baldridge, has argued in court.

Swift is seeking a verdict that awards her $1, while holding Mueller responsible and “serving as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts,” her lawsuit states.

Some entertainment attorneys say celebrities often want to address such situations outside court.

“Once celebrities decide to take legal action, it’s going to hit the press, they’re going to be called as a witness and they have to spend time with that,” said Tre Lovell, a California-based attorney who represents entertainment management companies.

Mueller, then 51, was a morning host at a Denver country-music station when he was assigned to attend Swift’s June 2, 2013, concert.

In court documents, Swift said, “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.” Mueller’s attorney, Gabriel McFarland, argues that Mueller may have been misidentified after someone else touched Swift.