DENVER (Reuters) - Recording star Taylor Swift's mother testified on Wednesday that she became sick to her stomach when she learnt her daughter had been groped during a pre-concert photo shoot four years ago, but they decided against calling the police to avoid publicity.
"I did not want this event to define her life," Andrea Swift said in the second day of testimony in a federal court trial stemming from the Grammy-winning singer's allegation that a Denver DJ fondled her bare buttocks at the picture-taking session.
Swift's mother said on the witness stand that one specific worry was the prospect that the photo taken with the radio personality in question, David Mueller, might end up going viral and even being doctored in a lewd way. "I was very upset...I felt like I wanted to vomit," she testified when asked to recall her reaction to her daughter telling her that she had been groped at a reception for her fans before a June 2013 concert in Denver.
"'Mom, a guy just grabbed my ass at the meet-and-greet,'" she recounted her daughter telling her moments after the alleged incident.
Mueller, who lost his job at radio station KYGO-FM over the encounter with Swift, insisted under oath on Tuesday - the first day of testimony - that he was innocent of any inappropriate behaviour and a victim of false accusations.
Mueller, 55, initiated the litigation, claiming Swift, 27, fabricated the groping story and pressured KYGO to fire him. She then countersued for assault and battery.
The eight-member United States District Court jury is now weighing both claims in a single trial.
According to Swift, Mueller slipped his hand under her dress and grabbed her as the two posed, along with Mueller's girlfriend, during the picture-taking session. She is expected to take the witness stand later in the trial.
Mueller testified on Tuesday that he may have made incidental physical contact with Swift, perhaps brushing her arm or torso. But asked by his own lawyer whether he had grabbed Swift's backside, Mueller said flatly: "No, I did not." Swift has been present for the proceedings every day since jury selection began on Monday, entering and exiting the courthouse through an undisclosed passageway that has allowed her to avoid the media camped outside the building.
Her lawyer J. Douglas Baldridge suggested during cross-examination of Mueller on Tuesday that the DJ was angry at having to wait in line with Swift's young fans for the picture-taking session.
Mueller acknowledged that he was not given a VIP pass for a meet-and-greet photo opportunity with Swift and instead was forced to stand in line with throngs of pre-teen girls and their mothers. But he denied the hour-long wait left him disgruntled with Swift.
Baldridge sought to cast Mueller as an opportunist who assaulted his client and was now seeking "to make the victim pay the price".
