Taylor Swift’s bodyguard testified on Friday that he witnessed former radio DJ David Mueller reach his hand under Swift’s skirt at a meet-and-greet in June 2013 in what he called a “violation” of her body.
“I know she wasn’t comfortable with it, that’s why she moved, pushed (her) skirt down and moved closer to the woman,” Greg Dent said.
Dent’s eyewitness testimony bolsters Swift’s allegation that Mueller, a former DJ for Denver radio station KYGO, inappropriately grabbed her buttocks at Denver’s Pepsi Center. KYGO is a CNN affiliate.
The photographer at the meet-and-greet, Stephanie Simbeck, testified Thursday that she also witnessed the alleged groping.
Dent’s account in the civil trial comes a day after Swift delivered confident and assertive testimony about the incident, which she called “horrifying and shocking.”
Mueller said in testimony on Tuesday that he simply touched her arm and ribs while “jostling” for the photo. But Swift rejected that assertion and said that he intentionally grabbed her buttocks and held on as she attempted to move away.
“This was not jostling,” Swift said. “He did not touch my rib. He did not touch my arm… He grabbed my bare ass.”
At the end of the meet-and-greet, Swift told her mother, Andrea, and her management team about the incident and identified Mueller as the culprit from a photo, she testified. Her radio promotions director, Frank Bell, told Mueller’s bosses at KYGO, who fired Mueller two days later after conducting their own investigation.
In 2015, Mueller sued Swift, her mother Andrea, and Bell in civil court, claiming that he did not touch her inappropriately and that he lost his job because of a false accusation.
In response, Swift countersued Mueller for assault and battery. Her lawsuit argued that the trial would “serve as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”
The civil trial began on Monday and is expected to last nine days.
Bodyguard’s account
Dent testified that he was positioned off to Swift’s side during the meet-and-greet, and he watched Mueller and his then-girlfriend Shannon Melcher enter for a photo. He testified that he saw Mueller put his hand under her skirt during the photo.
“I know I saw it,” he said. “I don’t believe (I saw it), I know I saw it.”
Mueller’s attorney Gabriel McFarland asked Dent why he did not intervene if he saw the alleged groping.
“I take my cues from her in certain situations and she continued with the photos,” Dent said.
Dent said he thought Mueller had been drinking alcohol prior to the photo op. Mueller testified on Tuesday that he had not had any drinks beforehand.
Mueller has argued that he may have been misidentified as the culprit, but Dent said he recognized Mueller as the culprit without looking at the photo of them.
“We weren’t doing a police lineup. I was standing right there,” he said. “I saw him. I didn’t need to go look at the camera to see what he looked like.”
The incident changed the way Dent dealt with future meet-and-greets, he said. From then on, he would quietly warn male photo takers to keep their hands high.