DENVER (AP) — Taylor Swift won $1 and long-awaited vindication after a jury decided that a radio host groped her during a pre-concert photo op four years ago.
After a weeklong trial over dueling lawsuits, jurors determined that fired Denver DJ David Mueller assaulted the pop star by grabbing her backside during a backstage meet-and-greet. The six-woman, two-man jury also found that Swift's mother and radio liaison were within their rights to contact Mueller's bosses.
Just before closing arguments, the judge dismissed Taylor Swift from Mueller's lawsuit, saying he had failed to prove that she sought to get Mueller fired or had any reason to believe that someone else may have assaulted her. U.S. District Judge William Martinez also drastically reduced the amount Mueller could collect.
An office worker gives a thumbs up after placing a sign in the windows of her building across the street from Denver Federal Court where the Taylor Swift groping trial jury selection resumes in Denver.
From the start, Swift's side portrayed the encounter as a clear case of sexual assault, even though they never reported it to police. Her mother tearfully testified that she asked Bell to reach out to Mueller's employers at country station KYGO-FM instead because they wanted to handle the matter quietly and avoid exposing the singer-songwriter to publicity.
In a fiery hourlong stint on the witness stand last week, Swift blasted a low-key characterization by Mueller's attorney, Gabriel McFarland, of what happened. While Mueller testified he never grabbed Swift, she insisted she was groped.
FILE PHOTO: A sketch of Taylor Swift and her attorneys in Denver Federal Court during the Swift groping trial in Denver U.S. August 8, 2017. Sketch from August 9, 2017.
REUTERS/Jeff Kandyba/File Photo NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.