In testimony before a Denver federal court on Thursday, pop star Taylor Swift remained adamant that David Mueller, a former radio host with local station KYGO, grabbed her rear-end during a meet and greet session at the Pepsi Center in 2013.
Swift took the stand for almost an hour before the courtroom, which included a jury comprised of six women and two men. (For the full story on the 2013 incident with Mueller that started it all, read our previous OCN article here.)
In Thursday morning's testimony, Gabriel McFarland, Mueller's attorney, questioned Swift, 27, about the details of the encounter and whether or not it was possible the groping had been an accident -- a result of jostling, as Mueller had testified previously. While under oath, Swift was very curt, firm, and spirited in her responses, and we've got all the "ass"-riddled quotes you can handle:
What Mr. Mueller did was very intentional," she testified. “He did not touch my rib, he did not touch my hand, he didn’t touch my arm, he grabbed my bare ass ... This was not jostling. There was no diving into the picture. We were perfectly in place to have the picture taken. This was not an action shot.”
And ...
He grabbed outside of my clothing, he grabbed my ass underneath my clothing. And refused to let go,” Swift said. “It was a definite grab, a very long grab.”Also ...
The first couple of milliseconds I thought it must be a mistake so I moved to the side very quickly so his hand would be released from my ass cheek,” Swift said, explaining why she appears to lean into Mueller's girlfriend Shannon Melcher in the photo. “It was a very shocking thing that has never happened to me before. I got as far away from him as I could.”McFarland also questioned Swift about Melcher.
Yeah, she did not have her hand on my ass,” came Swift's curt answer.
McFarland asked Swift why the front of her skirt wasn’t ruffled, per the photo that was taken.
Because my ass is located on the back of my body,” Swift responded.
No. I am critical of your client for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my bare ass,” she said.
Per The Denver Post, it's possible that Swift's testimony included the "highest number of times the words 'ass' and 'cheek' have been used in combination in a courtroom." We agree that that's a statistic definitely worth looking into!
Swift testified that, after the photo op, she had trouble making eye contact with Mueller and Melcher, and that she simply said, "thanks for coming," in a monotone voice.
I didn’t have a reaction to a strange person I didn’t know losing his job … that was a product of his decisions, not mine. I’m not going to let you or your client make me feel like this is my fault ... I don’t know anything about Mr. Mueller. I don’t know him. I think what he did was despicable, horrifying, shocking, but I don’t know him at all.”She also insisted that her story has not changed in the four years since the incident:
You can ask me a million questions about it and I’m never going to say something different,” she explained. “I never have said anything different.”What do you think about Swift's testimony? What do you think about the situation? We want to know! Weigh in below!
