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Pop star Taylor Swift has insisted Denver DJ David Mueller grabbed her bare backside and held on for a long time, during a whirlwind hour of testimony in a US federal court.
Key points:
- Taylor Swift countersued DJ David Mueller, after he said she had made a false claim that had cost him his job
- The singer alleges Mr Mueller groped her during a photo opportunity after a concert in 2013
- He says the pair had a "awkward" photo and that their arms got crossed
"He stayed attached to my bare ass cheek as I lurched away from him," Swift said during the trial over duelling lawsuits in the case.
"It was a definite grab. A very long grab."
In her lawsuit, Swift alleges Mueller sexually assaulted her as their photo was being taken at a meet-and-greet event after a concert in 2013 — a charge the DJ denies.
In court, the singer-songwriter's testy exchange with Mueller's attorney occasionally elicited chuckles — even from the eight-member jury.
Swift got a laugh from people in the courtroom when she said her security guard, Greg Dent, saw Mueller lift her skirt but someone would have had to have been underneath her to see the actual groping "and we didn't have anyone positioned there".
She was more serious when asked her reaction to Mueller being fired.
"I'm being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions, not mine," she told jurors.
"Do you think Mueller got what he deserved?" his attorney Gabriel McFarland asked.
"I don't feel anything about Mueller. I don't know him," Swift replied.
"I think what he did was despicable and horrifying and shocking."
Hand was at 'rib-cage level', Mueller says
Mueller has denied groping Swift and claimed in his lawsuit that he was falsely accused and lost his job because of the allegation.
Mueller has sought up to $3 million in damages, but says he is not seeking a specific amount — just a chance to clear his name and salvage his career.
Swift countersued, alleging sexual assault. She has sought a symbolic $1 judgment that holds Mueller responsible.
Mueller has testified the photo was "weird and awkward," but he touched Swift in the ribs, not in the rear.
He testified his hand was touching her skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms got crossed.
"My hand was at rib-cage level and apparently it went down," he said in earlier testimony.
Swift said she tried to get as far away from Mueller as she could after the photo was taken, and that she did not say anything because she did not want to disappoint several dozen people waiting in line for photos with her.
The singer's mother said she and her daughter's managers decided to tell Mueller's bosses that he had assaulted the singer, hoping he would be fired but not asking them to do so.
Andrea Swift said she did not contact police in order to protect her daughter, saying she did not want the incident to "define her life".
A photo of the meet and greet, shown to jurors during opening statements but not publicly released, shows Mr Mueller's hand behind Swift, just below her waist. Both are smiling.
AP
Topics: arts-and-entertainment, music, pop, country, law-crime-and-justice, united-states