DENVER: Jurors deciding whether a radio host groped Taylor Swift during a photo op — and whether she and her team got him fired — will have to determine not just whose story to believe but what to make of a photograph that both sides say proves their case.
The photo shows David Mueller with his right hand behind the singer, just below her waist, before a 2013 concert. It’s inconclusive whether he’s touching her. Both are smiling.
Based on court records, here’s a look at that and other key elements in the he-said, she-said civil trial that begins Monday in federal court in Denver.
THE PHOTOGRAPH
Swift’s lawyers called the image “damning” proof that Mueller inappropriately touched her. Mueller argues it shows him trying to jump into the frame.
Entertainment news outlet TMZ obtained and published the photo, which has since been sealed by the court.
Swift’s business manager, Jesse Schaudies Jr., said her side did not want the picture in the news.
“We did not want copycats and one-uppers abounding. And that happens in our world,” he testified last year. “These people all tend to escalate. I’ve watched what happens with these files and individuals.”
THE ENCOUNTER
Swift says: “He took his hand and put it up my dress and grabbed onto my ass cheek.”
Immediately after the meet-and-greet, Swift says, she confirmed the assault with a photographer and security staff, who then confronted Mueller.
Mueller says he told the security staff: “Please call the police. I didn’t do anything.”
Swift’s security guard was about 3 feet (about 1 meter) away during the meet-and-greet, Mueller says. Swift remained pleasant as she bid Mueller and his girlfriend goodbye, he says, and more than a dozen people met with Swift after Mueller left.
THE AFTERMATH
Swift said: “It was not an accident. It was completely intentional, and I have never been so sure of anything in my life.”
A member of Swift’s staff called Mueller’s boss at radio station KYGO and asked that the station “take appropriate action.”
Swift maintains she was sexually assaulted, but she was trying to keep the matter discreet and quiet. She says she does not know Mueller and has no incentive to target him or to fabricate a story.
Mueller’s boss said the DJ told him during an internal investigation that any contact during the photo op was incidental or accidental.
OTHER KEY WITNESSES
— Andrea Swift, the singer’s mother, will testify about the decision to contact Mueller’s boss and not call the police.
— Frank Bell, a member of the singer’s team, will testify about why he contacted Mueller’s bosses at KYGO and what was said. Bell and Andrea Swift are also defendants in Mueller’s lawsuit.
— Shannon Melcher, Mueller’s girlfriend at the time, will testify about standing on the other side of Swift when the photo was taken, and to Mueller’s character.
— Greg Dent, Swift’s bodyguard, may be called to testify about what he saw during the encounter.
Photograph is among the key evidence in Taylor Swift trial
Photograph is among the key evidence in Taylor Swift trial
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
