Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, known for baring her soul and her grudges in her music, presented an unflinching account under oath and in open court of her allegation that a Colorado DJ groped her while they posed for photos together four years ago.
The 27-year-old Grammy-winning artist behind such hits as 'Fearless', 'Bad Blood' and 'I Knew You Were Trouble', took the witness stand on Thursday on the fourth day of a federal court trial in Denver pitting her against the man she has accused of sexual assault, David Mueller.
The eight-member US District Court jury is weighing her charge that Mr Mueller clutched her bare buttocks during a pre-concert fan reception in 2013 against Mr Mueller's assertion that she falsely accused him and then got him fired.
But with the exception of Mr Mueller, the trial's first witness, almost every individual subsequently put on the stand by his lawyer, Gabriel McFarland, delivered extremely compelling testimony in support of Swift's case.
Swift's testimony was so apparently devastating to Mr Mueller that her lawyer, Douglas Baldridge, declined a chance to cross-examine his own client when Mr McFarland was done questioning her. It remained to be seen whether Mr Baldridge would call anyone else to the stand once Mr McFarland rests his case.
In unvarnished language that occasionally drew titters in the courtroom, even from some jurors, Swift said she was subjected to a "very long" and "intentional" grope by Mr Mueller as they posed for a photo with his girlfriend, and that he appeared to be drunk at the time.
"Your client grabbed my ass," she told Mr McFarland. "He stayed latched onto my bare ass cheek. I felt him grab onto my ass cheek under my skirt."
Mr Mueller, 55, testified on Tuesday that he may have made innocent contact with Swift but denied any inappropriate behaviour. Asked if he grabbed her backside, the former disc jockey for Denver radio station KYGO-FM replied: "No, I did not."
The photograph in question, repeatedly displayed in court, shows the pop star in a black skirt and top, flanked by Mr Mueller and his girlfriend, all three smiling for the camera. Mr Mueller has his right hand concealed behind her rear end, and Swift appears to have shifted her hip slightly away from him.
Swift sharply denied Mr McFarland's suggestion that Mr Mueller was the victim of mistaken identity. "He had a handful of my ass. I know it was him," she fired back.
Swift's account was backed by testimony from several others, including her photographer, Stephanie Simbeck, who recalled seeing through her camera's viewfinder Mr Mueller "put his hand on (Swift's) butt". She said it was clear to her that Swift "was trying to get away" from Mr Mueller.
Once he and his girlfriend left, Ms Simbeck testified, Swift said aloud: "Dude, that guy grabbed my ass," to which Ms Simbeck responded, "I knew it. I have the photograph."
They quickly found the Mr Mueller image in her camera and Swift said, "That's him," Ms Simbeck told jurors.
Reuters
