Ed Clemente Photography David Mueller.
The Taylor Swift “butt groping” trial began on August 7 in Denver, with the pop star alleging that former Denver radio host David Mueller grabbed her butt during a meet and greet in 2013. In the end, the jury agreed with Swift and she received the symbolic $1 she was asking for.
The legal drama began in 2015, when Mueller first sued Swift after 98.5 KYGO fired him. Swift then countersued. On August 11, the judge threw out Mueller’s case against Swift, ruling that the DJ couldn’t prove Swift got him fired. As The Associated Press reports, Mueller’s claims against Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, and Frank Bell, a member of Swift’s team, still went to the jury.
On August 14, the trial ended with the jury siding with Swift, the Associated Press reports.
Swift released the following statement to People Magazine after her victory:
“I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process.
I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”
During her testimony on August 10, Swift stood by her story. “It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” Swift told the jury, reports NBC News. “He grabbed my ass underneath my skirt.”
Swift and Mueller met on June 2, 2013, when Swift was touring to promote her album RED. Before that encounter, Mueller was a veteran of radio and co-hosted KYGO’s Ryno and Jackson as “Jackson.” He previously worked in Minneapolis, Columbus and San Diego before arriving in Denver. According to All Access, he was earning $150,000 a year.
Judge removes Taylor Swift as defendant in former dj lawsuit. #taylorswift
Here’s what you need to know about Swift vs. Mueller.
1. Mueller Started the Legal Battle With a Lawsuit in September 2015, Over 2 Years After He Was Fired
The Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse in Denver, where the trial will take place.
The incident at the center of the case happened on June 2, 2013. Mueller was invited to meet and greet Swift backstage at her Pepsi Center show on the RED tour. Mueller and his girlfriend at the time, Shannon Melcher, posed with the “Bad Blood” singer for a photo.
It was Mueller who filed the first lawsuit. The Denver Post reported that Mueller alleged that Swift “suddenly announced it was picture time” and she quickly put her right arm around him. He jumped into the photo “at the last second,” according to the suit. Then, Swift thanked them and they left.
After the photo, a member of Swift’s security team accused Mueller of grabbing Swift’s butt when it was taken. On June 4, 2013, Mueller was fired.
In the lawsuit, Mueller denied inappropriately touching Swift. He said his firing led to a loss of future business opportunities.
Mueller’s lawsuit also alleges that a radio station co-worker “described and demonstrated how he had put his arms around her, hands on her bottom” while taking his photo with Swift, according to the lawsuit. Mueller’s attorney says Swift might have mistaken Mueller as the man who groped her.
Before filing a countersuit a month after Mueller’s lawsuit, a Swift spokesperson told People Magazine, “The radio station was given evidence immediately after the incident. They made their independent decision.”
As BuzzFeed notes, court documents show that between the time of the photo and when Swift’s security team approached him, Swift told her team about the alleged groping. He was banned from her shows for life.
KYGO fired Mueller citing a morality clause, court documents say, The Associated Press notes. The documents also show that a representative for the station claimed Mueller lied and changed his story about not touching Swift inappropriately.
2. Mueller Is Seeking $3 Million in Damages, but Swift Wants Only $1
GettyTaylor Swift in 2016.
While Mueller is seeking $3 million in damages, Swift is only asking for $1, The Associated Press notes.
Swift filed her countersuit in October 2015. In her suit, she claims that she “knows exactly who committed the assault.” If she wins the case and is awarded any damages, she plans to donate them to charity.
“Resolution of this Counterclaim will demonstrate that Mueller alone was the perpetrator of the humiliating and wrongful conduct targeted against Ms. Swift, and will serve as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts,” Swidft’s countersuit reads. “For this reason, any recovery obtained by Ms. Swift will be donated to charitable organizations dedicated to protecting women from similar acts of sexual assault and personal disregard.”
During pre-trial court hearings, lawyers for both sides said there was no settlement in the works. Swift’s attorney, Douglas Baldridge, said his client wanted to keep the situation quiet, but was not happy with Mueller claiming that “for some reason she might have some incentive to actually fabricate this story.”
The case is being tried in U.S. District Court since Swift and Mueller live in different states. It also involves a claim of damages over $75,000. The case will be tried before a jury in Denver. Swift testified on August 10.
3. Swift’s Lawyers Fought to Have the Photo With Mueller Sealed by the Court
In November, Swift’s lawyers successfully fought to keep the photo of Mueller, Swift and Mueller’s girlfriend sealed. However, TMZ published the photo, which does appear to show Mueller’s right hand behind Swift’s back.
According to the Associated Press, Swift’s lawyers called the photo “damning” proof to back her claims. However, her business manager, Jess Schaudies Jr., testified in 2016 that he feared releasing the photo publicly would inspire copycats.
“We did not want copycats and one-uppers abounding. And that happens in our world,” Schaudies said. “These people all tend to escalate. I’ve watched what happens with these files and individuals.”
“It was not an accident. It was completely intentional, and I have never been so sure of anything in my life,” Swift said, according to court records.
4. Mueller Was Already Sanctioned By the Court for Destroying Evidence in the Case
In July, Mueller suffered a legal blow when the court sanctioned him for destroying important evidence, CBS Denver reported. According to court documents, he recorded a conversation he had with his boss at KYGO right after the alleged groping happened.
Mueller claimed he spilled coffee on his laptop’s keyboard, damaging the laptop. He also backed it up on a hard drive, but that stopped working. U.S. District Judge William Martinez ruled that Mueller was “unjustifiably careless in his handling of evidence that he had a clear duty to preserve.” Some of the audio has survived and will be entered into evidence.
“Call explained that one reason for Plaintiff’s termination was because Call perceived Plaintiff had ‘changed his story that it couldn’t have occurred, then that it was incidental,’” Martinez wrote, reports the Denver Post.
Mueller also had a cellular phone, laptop, iPad and computer and he admitted that they were all destroyed or lost. Despite his carelessness, Martinez wrote that he didn’t think the DJ acted in “bad faith.”
But since he is suing Swift for $3 million, Martinez wrote, “It is very hard to understand how he spent so little time and effort to preserve the very evidence which — one might think — could have helped him to prove his claims, and why he evidently responded with nonchalance when that evidence was lost.”
5. The Jury Awarded Swift the $1 She Asked for, Agreeing That Mueller Assaulted Her
On August 11, Judge William J. Martinez considered a motion from Swift’s team to have the entire case dismissed before the jury goes to deliberation. Denver7 reported that Martinez dismissed the case against Swift, saying the former DJ couldn’t prove that the singer got him fired. However, as the network points out, there are still claims that remain so the jury will be back on August 14.
On August 14, the trial came to an end with the jury siding with Swift, reports The Denver Channel. They agreed that Mueller assaulted Swift and awarded her $1.
Swift took the stand on August 10. She told the jury that Mueller lifted her skirt to grope her. “The image depicted in the photograph of Ms. Swift with … Mueller speaks for itself,” Swift’s team said of the photo.
As The Associated Press notes, Swift’s mother Andrea already testified. Frank Bell, a member of Swift’s entourage, is also expected to testify. They will likely explain to the jury why the Swift team contacted KYGO instead of the Denver police. Melcher will probably testify since she is in the photo in question and can discuss Mueller’s character.
Mueller himself will testify. The trial is expected to last up to nine days.
The Daily Beast reports that the pieces of evidence in the case include the photo, Swift’s cellphone records, Bell’s notes and Mueller’s emails with his boss.
On the second day of the trial, Swift’s lawyer, Doug Baldridge, disputed Mueller’s allegation that Swift ruined his reputation. Baldridge suggested that it was the DJ who “rendered himself unemployable” by telling people about Swift’s allegations. After all, if Mueller never filed a lawsuit against Swift, the allegations likely wouldn’t have been made public. Baldridge also argued that Mueller didn’t work hard enough to find himself a new job after KYGO fired him.