Taylor Swift testifies in groping trial: ‘It was a definite grab’

UNITED STATES: Taylor Swift testified in a Denver federal court yesterday about a 2013 incident in which she alleges former radio DJ David Mueller groped her during a meet-and-greet she held for fans before a concert.

USA Today reported that the singer spent just over an hour on the witness stand, where she said that Mueller ‘‘grabbed my ass underneath my skirt’’.

‘‘It was a definite grab. A very long grab,’’ Swift said.

Swift alleges that Mueller, formerly a host for Denver country radio station KYGO, grabbed her as she posed for a photo alongside him and his girlfriend ahead of her sold-out concert at Denver’s Pepsi Centre.

The trial is the latest event in a drawn-out legal battle between Swift and Mueller.

Mueller sued Swift in 2015, claiming that her accusation got him fired from KYGO. In his law- suit, filed in US District Court in Denver, he claimed the allegations were false.

Mueller, seeking up to US$3 million in damages, said that it was in fact his co-worker, Eddie Haskell, who had grabbed the singer. Swift countersued Mueller a month later, accusing him of assault and battery.

During the trial yesterday, Swift contradicted Mueller’s earlier testimony that he simply ‘‘jostled’’ her while posing for the photo and may have touched her ribcage, but not her buttocks.

Swift is asking for US$1 in her countersuit, according to Buzz- feed, which describes the amount as a ‘‘symbolic gesture’’ meant to inspire other women to stand up for themselves. She remained steadfast despite repeated questioning from Mueller’s legal team and noted that her story had not changed since the alleged incident.

- Washington Post