Taylor Swift excused from defamation case day after groping testimony
One day after Taylor Swift gave gripping court testimony about being groped by a radio DJ, the pop star was removed as a defendant in the man's $3 million defamation lawsuit against her.
The federal judge presiding over the case said Friday the Denver DJ, David Mueller, couldn't prove Swift got him fired from his job at country music station KYGO-FM following the alleged groping incident after a 2013 concert, according to the Associated Press.
But the jury trial will continue in Denver with the other defendants named in the lawsuit: her mother, Andrea Swift, and Swift's radio promotions director, Frank Bell, according to CNN.
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Mueller sued Swift in 2015, claiming that she falsely accused him of groping her and pressured radio station managers to fire him. Swift counter-sued for $1, alleging he grabbed her bare butt under her skirt while she was taking a photo with Mueller and his then-girlfriend during a meet-and-greet. Swift sees her countersuit, which will continue forward, as a way to stand up for other women who have experienced sexual harassment.
"I am critical of your client for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass," Swift said Thursday during her one-hour testimony, according to multiple news reports.
Mueller's attorney pressed Swift on why the front of her skirt didn't appear to move in the photograph and she retorted: "Because my ass is located in the back of my body.”
“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," she added at another point. "I am being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions and not mine."
Mueller's ex-girlfriend says she didn't see him grab Swift, but Swift's bodyguard testified he did. Mueller, 55, maintains he only touched her ribs.
Swift, who hugged her brother after the judge's ruling, looked as if she was wiping away tears, according to reporters on the ground.
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During the trial, Swift's fans crowded outside the courthouse, and after news broke about the judge's decision, they rallied for her online.
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Topics Celebrities
Brittany Levine Beckman was Mashable's managing editor. She enjoys crafting feature ideas, learning new things, and party parrots. Before working at Mashable, she covered community news at the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. That's how she met a zonkey and the tallest man in the world.
