Jury Sides With Taylor Swift in Groping Trial, Orders DJ to Pay $1
The jury in the Taylor Swift assault trial ruled in favor of the singer and her mother Monday, rejecting a radio DJ’s claims that they unjustly had him fired from his job after allegedly groping the singer during a 2013 backstage meet-and-greet.
In addition to siding against David Mueller’s $3 million lawsuit – or $250,000, as his lawyer compromised during closing arguments – the jury also ruled in favor of Swift’s assault and battery countersuit, forcing Mueller to pay Swift a symbolic $1, CNN reports.
Following Swift’s victory, the singer pledged to make donations to “multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”
Swift said in a statement, “I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process.”
The singer added, “I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”
“I’m disappointed for Mr. Mueller, but respect the jury’s decision,” Mueller’s lawyer, Gabe McFarland, tells Rolling Stone.
While Swift was dismissed from Mueller’s lawsuit on Friday after the judge found the DJ’s legal team failed to prove Swift had anything to do with his firing, Mueller’s lawsuit against the singer’s mother Andrea Swift and radio promotions director Frank Bell continued, with closing arguments read Monday.
After a four-hour deliberation, the jury found that Swift provided enough evidence to prove that Mueller “grabbed my ass underneath my skirt,” as she testified in court.
Swift previously said her $1 countersuit was “an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating act.”
As Swift’s lawyer Doug Baldridge said during closing arguments, “By returning a verdict on Ms. Swift’s counterclaim for a single symbolic dollar, the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation…You will tell every woman…that no means no.”