Taylor Swift News: Radio Host Insists He Touched Singer's Ribs, Not Her Bottom, During 2013 Photo Shoot
Former radio host David Mueller has denied Taylor Swift's allegations that he touched her bottom at a photo session before her concert in 2013.
Mueller appeared in court on Tuesday at the civil trial in Denver and suggested that he may have touched Swift's rib cage with his close hands, contrary to the singer's claim that he touched her buttocks underneath.
The eight jurors chosen for the case were shown a photo of the encounter, which, according to Swift's lawyers, is a "damning" proof of Mueller's violation. As seen in the photo, Mueller has his hand behind Swift just below her waist before the latter's concert in 2013.
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Both are also seen smiling in the photo.
However, according to Mueller's lawyer, Gabriel McFarland, it is evident that his client did nothing wrong as the photo suggests that his client did not touch Swift in her buttocks.
"If you look at that photograph, his hand is not underneath Miss Swift's skirt, and her skirt is not rumpled in any fashion," McFarland insisted.
Apart from belying the claims of Swift, Mueller also suggested that the singer may have been, indeed, groped at her buttocks, but she must have mistaken him for another person. According to the former radio program host, one of his bosses in the radio station, Hershel Coomer, had told him that his (Coomer's) hands were on Swift's butts during the photo shoot.
"I thought he (Coomer) was just telling me one of his stories," Mueller said.
However, upon cross-examination, Mueller could not explain why he did not bring up what Coomer had told him in the wake of the investigation prior to his firing from the radio station. Eventually, Mueller explained that his supervisors had discussed the possibility of letting him go even before the incident between him and Swift happened.
Mueller and Swift's court battle stemmed from a meet-and-greet in Denver in 2013 that led to Mueller's firing from the radio station he was working for after he was accused of touching Swift's "bare bottom" while posing for the flashing cameras. After two years, Mueller sued Swift, her mother Andrea, and management team for slander and accused them as the reason why he got fired from his dream job.
Swift has denied having a hand in Mueller's losing his job and filed a countersuit.
The trial is expected to last nine days.
