Taylor Swift‘s mother, Andrea Swift, took the stand in Denver federal court on Wednesday, August 9, in her daughter’s groping trial against former radio DJ David Mueller.
“We had never experienced this before,” Andrea, 59, said, referring to the night that Mueller allegedly grabbed Taylor’s butt during a backstage meet-and-greet in June 2013. “We didn’t know what to do. It was inconceivable to us that this could take place. We didn’t know what to do. We were shocked.”
The “Shake It Off” singer, 27, did not contact the police after the alleged incident because she wanted to keep it “discreet and quiet and confidential,” her attorney Douglas Baldridge previously argued in court.
“I did not want this event to define her life,” Andrea explained, per an Us Weekly reporter in attendance. “I did not want every interview from that moment on to make her have to talk about what happened to her. I didn’t want her to have to live through the endless memes internet trolls could come up with. We absolutely wanted to keep it private, but we did not want him to get away with it.”
Mueller worked at Denver country music station 98.5 KYGO at the time and was assigned to work Taylor’s concert at the Pepsi Center. He was escorted out of the arena after the alleged groping and was subsequently fired from his job.
“Before the show, the only thing I wanted [Taylor] to know was that he wouldn’t be in the building to stare at her after what he had done to her,” Andrea recalled. “But I also knew she had to go on a stage and perform. The stage can be extraordinarily dangerous if the artist isn’t focused.”
During Wednesday’s testimony, Mueller claimed he touched Taylor near her rib cage, not her butt. “The reason I’m here is because I want to clear my name first and foremost,” he told Baldridge and the jury panel. “It’s the only chance I have of working in radio again.”
The Grammy winner, who largely avoided the spotlight in recent months, has appeared in court every day since the jury selection on Monday, July 7. She is expected to take the stand at some point in the trial, and is seeking $1 in her sexual assault countersuit.
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