Taylor Swift sexual assault trial
The Taylor Swift sexual assault trial was a legal case held in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. The trial involved David Mueller, a former DJ, filing for defamation against singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. He alleged that she had him wrongfully terminated following an incident at a 2013 meet-and-greet.[1] Swift then counter-sued Mueller for battery and sexual assault, seeking a symbolic $1 in damages. The trial lasted one week, beginning on August 7, 2017, with both Mueller and Swift appearing in court. It concluded on the evening of August 14, 2017, with the jury ruling in Swift's favor and ordering Mueller to pay her $1.[2]
Mueller v. Swift
David Mueller v. Taylor Swift
August 14, 2017
The trial was subject to significant media attention by virtue of Swift's status as a high-profile celebrity. News and media outlets reported on the details of the case and the public's reaction daily.[3] In a statement released by Swift following the trial, she revealed her reasoning for counter-suing was to empower other victims of sexual assault.[4] In the statement, she also pledged to donate to organizations that help fund legal costs of sexual assault victims who choose to defend themselves.
Public response[edit]
In the two-year lead-up to the trial, numerous news agencies wrote articles about the incident, fueling public interest.[20][21]
During the trial, employees of Craftsy, a Denver-based crafting and design website located directly opposite the courtrooms, began to place post-it notes in the windows of their offices. The notes spelled out lyrics and song names from Swift's discography, including "Fearless", "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "Shake It Off" as signs of encouragement and support for the singer during her court appearances.[22]
During Swift's Tampa Bay show of her Reputation Stadium Tour on August 14, 2018, the one-year anniversary of the trial, fans in the audience held up $1 bills in her honor as a symbol of support for her.[23][24] Swift gave a speech about the victims of sexual assault before continuing with the tour set list, playing a mash up of "New Year's Day" and "Long Live".[24]
In Swift's speech, she stated, "A year ago I was not playing in a sold-out stadium in Tampa, I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado. This is the day the jury sided in my favor and said that they believed me". She continued to speak about believing victims, apologizing to anyone who had not been believed or was too frightened to speak up for fear of not being believed. She closed her speech by thanking those who had supported her in what was a "really horrible part of [her] life" and contemplating where her life would have been had people not believed her.[24]
Aftermath[edit]
In December 2017, Swift was named as a "Silence Breaker" in Time magazine's Person of the Year issue.[17] In the magazine, Swift gave her first recount of the assault and trial, detailing how it felt to testify and advice she would offer to fans. She also revealed that as of that date she had still not been paid the symbolic dollar she had won.[17]
Swift also recalled that it was the most number of times the term "ass" had been spoken in Colorado Federal Court.[17]
It has also been widely speculated that Swift made a reference to her assault trial in her "Look What You Made Me Do" music video, but this was never confirmed by Swift herself.[25]
In the April 2019 issue of Elle, Swift once again spoke of her trial. In the piece, titled "30 things I learned before I turned 30", Swift stated, as her 13th lesson, that "It’s my opinion that in cases of sexual assault, I believe the victim." She credited this lesson to her own trial experience, drawing on what she described as the stigma many women feel when speaking up about assault.[26]
Following the outcome of the trial, Mueller struggled for months to find a job in radio. In 2018, he was hired by KIX-92.7 hosting a morning show in Mississippi, presenting under the pseudonym Stonewall Jackson.[27] The case was mentioned in the 2023 ski crash lawsuit against American actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who had countersued the plaintiff for $1. Paltrow won the suit.[28]