Will this inspire another song?
Former Denver, Colorado radio DJ David Mueller has filed a lawsuit against singer Taylor Swift, as per USA Today, saying he lost his job after being accused of grabbing Swift's derriere during a photo session.
Mueller, known as radio DJ "Jackson", attended a Taylor Swift concert meet-and-greet last June 2013 with his colleague and girlfriend Shannon Melcher, CNN reports. He narrates in court documents that the backstage event was not only an opportunity to rub elbows with Swift but was also part of his job duties with station KYGO. Both Mueller and Melcher were granted a photo with the "1989" singer and then left the backstage to enjoy the rest of the show.
According to CNN, the controversial dispute started when Swift reportedly claimed that Mueller lifted her "skirt with his hands and grabbed her bottom", after which Swift's security team approached and accused Mueller and Melcher and removed them from the concert grounds. USA Today reports that Mueller was fired by employer KYGO radio two days later.
Mueller, however, denies the allegations made by Swift and remarked that he met similar celebrities of which no such incident occurred.
Swift's managers though, as per CNN, described the photo as "damning".
Mueller's lawsuit explains otherwise:
"The photograph, Ms. Swift is smiling and hugging Ms. Melcher. Although Mr. Mueller's hand is behind Ms. Swift and therefore not visible, it is clear that her skirt is in place and is not being lifted by Mr. Mueller's hand... Similarly, Ms. Swift's hand is behind Mr. Mueller and therefore not visible."
The lawsuit further states:
"The contention that Mr. Mueller lifted up Ms. Swift's skirt and grabbed her bottom, while standing with his girlfriend, in front of Ms. Swift's photographer and Ms. Swift's highly trained security personnel, during a company sponsored, VIP, backstage meet-and-greet, is nonsense, particularly given that Ms. Swift's skirt is in place and is not being lifted by Mr. Mueller's hand in the photograph."
On Saturday, Swift's publicist released a statement saying that Mueller's employer had the prerogative to fire Mueller as it was given evidence, USA Today reports.
"The radio station was given evidence immediately after the incident. They made their independent decision," Swift's spokeswoman Tree Paine told CNN via email.
From this point, however, the aim of the lawsuit seems to be to recover Mueller's lost income. When the incident happened, he was making $150,000 a year.