A Colorado judge handed a legal victory to singer Taylor Swift on Friday, tossing out the claims made against her by radio DJ David Mueller, the Associated Press reports.
Mueller had filed suit against Swift, saying that he was fired after being wrongfully accused of groping Swift’s rear end during a meet-and greet in 2013.
The judge tossed Mueller’s claims after finding that he couldn’t prove his case against Swift. U.S. District Judge William Martinez found that Mueller hadn’t made the case that Swift attempted to have him fired from Denver radio station KYGO over the alleged incident.
Mueller’s similar claims against Swift’s mother and the radio station will be weighed by a jury.
Mueller filed suit against the singer in September 2015, claiming that he was wrongfully fired after being accused of groping the singer during the meet-and-greet at Swift’s concert at Denver’s Pepsi Center in June 2013. The radio personality, who goes by the professional name “Jackson,” has adamantly denied the accusation, though Swift has testified: “It was not an accident. It was completely intentional, and I have never been so sure of anything in my life.”
Swift subsequently filed a countersuit against Mueller in October 2015.
Swift took the stand on Thursday, adamantly asserting that Mueller had groped her during a photo-op at the meet-and-greet, telling the court that Mueller “stayed on to my bare ass cheek” as they posed for a photo.
Questioned by Mueller’s attorney, Gabriel McFarland, about what happened, Swift told the court, according to Denver’s ABC affiliate: “He stayed on to my bare ass cheek as I lurched away from him uncomfortably … The first couple of milliseconds, I thought it must be a mistake. I moved to the side very quickly.”
When asked about Mueller’s hand placement while the photo was being taken, Swift responded. “He stuck it right up.”
McFarland asked the “Shake it Off” singer if she was certain that it was Mueller who groped her, Swift said there was no question.
“He had a handful of my ass. It happened to me. I know it was him,” Swift responded. “I didn’t need a picture. I could have picked him out of a line of a thousand…this is not alleged. I don’t need you to grill me about the tiny details of this photograph.”
Asked why the front of her skirt wasn’t ruffled in the photo that was taken during the alleged groping, Swift said, “Because my ass is located on the back of my body.”