Taylor Swift Files Countersuit Against Former Country DJ Who She Claims Groped Her
Taylor Swift has responded to a legal filing from a former country radio DJ who was fired after he was accused of touching her inappropriately with a lawsuit of her own.
David Mueller worked as on-air talent for Denver radio station KYGO-FM under the name "Jackson" as part of the Ryno and Jackson morning show until June of 2013, when he was dismissed after an accusation that he lifted Swift's skirt and "grabbed her bottom" during a photo with the singer before her concert at Denver's Pepsi Center.
The accusation came from Swift's team, and Mueller was fired from his job afterward. He filed suit against Swift in September 2015, claiming that he and his girlfriend were accosted by the superstar's security and verbally abused at the show, and that he had been banned from Swift's concerts for the rest of his life. Mueller's filing states that he was earning $150,000 a year at the time of his dismissal, with the possibility of further earnings in bonuses, endorsements and personal appearances. Mueller claims in his suit that his superior at KYGO, Eddie Haskell, was the one who actually touched Swift inappropriately.
Swift fired back in court on Wednesday (Oct. 28), filing a counter suit against the former radio personality.
"Ms. Swift knows exactly who committed the assault -- it was Mueller -- and she is not confused in the slightest about whether her long-term business acquaintance, Mr. Haskell, was the culprit," the countersuit reads, according to People, which obtained the documents. "Resolution of this Counterclaim will demonstrate that Mueller alone was the perpetrator of the humiliating and wrongful conduct targeted against Ms. Swift, and will serve as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts."
The counter lawsuit alleges that Mueller "intentionally reached under her skirt, and groped with his hand an intimate part of her body in an inappropriate manner, against her will, and without her permission," adding, "Mueller did not merely brush his hand against Ms. Swift while posing for the photograph ... He lifted her skirt and groped her."
Swift is demanding a jury trial, and her filing states that she will donate any money she wins to "charitable organizations dedicated to protecting women from similar acts of sexual assault and personal disregard."
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