David Mueller, the former Denver radio personality whom a jury found assaulted and battered Taylor Swift by groping her, has spoken out repeatedly since the ruling to defend his innocence, and is still publicly commenting on the matter–this time, scoffing at Swift’s inclusion on TIME’s annual “Person of the Year” cover.
The cover this year didn’t highlight a single individual; rather, it celebrated the “Silence Breakers”–prominent women coming forward about sexual harassment. As reported by TMZ, Mueller thinks Swift doesn’t deserve a place in that category.
“They want to make a connection between my lawsuit and these other cases where women are saying they were assaulted, I get it. Because they’re a magazine–they’re trying to sell stuff,” he noted in a video posted Dec. 16, shaking his head. “But is [Swift] a hero? She testified in court because the judge ordered her to…they made it seem like she had a choice to testify.”
He went on to say that Swift’s attorneys tried to get his claims thrown out. “They weren’t. I never wanted to settle for money. I wanted to clear my name.”
Mueller also grabbed further attention for how he handled his resolution payout to Swift (which amounted to a symbolic $1). He sent the singer a $1 coin embossed with famous Native American woman Sacagawea.
He explained this was a deliberate move designed to show his concern for women overall. “The first thing that popped into my head was, ‘I want women to have a voice too.’ So it would make sense if the symbolic dollar were a Sacagawea coin.”
Mueller states he read an article online about a crisis of Native American women disappearing and found murdered in North America, and found himself distressed by the lack of reporting on the matter. “The point I was trying to make was: Men can care about women too.”
A Denver jury decided in August that Mueller was in the wrong in the lawsuit Swift filed accusing him of sexually assaulting her. Swift alleged that Mueller reached under her skirt and groped her rear end, and the incident resulted in his firing from radio station KYGO. He sued Swift in 2015, accusing her of interference in his employment contract and slander. Swift countersued alleging assault in response, and while Mueller’s claims were all thrown out of court, the jury sided with Swift on Monday, awarding her the symbolic one dollar she was asking for.
Mueller claims he wasn’t ready for the photo, and says the awkward angle of his hand behind Swift was purely an accident because he squeezed into the shot at the last minute.
Celebrities who supported Taylor Swift in Groping Case
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TasteofCountry.com
