Taylor Swift’s No-Bullshit Testimony at Groping Trial: ‘He Grabbed My Ass’

Taylor Swift took the stand Thursday to testify against the disc jockey she says groped her, and, in her line of questioning, took no bullshit.

The pop star’s testimony has been branded alternately “firm” and “snarky,” according to reports of the trial.

Maybe it’s no surprise, as the latter reaction illustrates, that a trial surrounding details of sexual harassment and assault and concerning a singer who is the world’s biggest female pop star, and who might also now be its most polarizing, is laden with undertones of misogyny and sexism.

And that’s precisely the attitude that Swift’s seemingly pissed-off, confident, and suffer-no-fools testimony not only reflects, but squashes and completely transcends.

The tabloid-ready trial concerns Swift’s allegation that, in 2013, former Denver radio host David Mueller put his hand up her skirt to grope her bare bottom while the two posed for photos during a pre-concert meet and greet.

Swift’s civil suit is in retaliation to a wrongful termination suit that Mueller filed against the singer, her mother, and her team seeking millions of dollars in compensation for the loss of his job and reputation, saying that Team Swift slandered him and bullied his bosses into firing him.

Swift’s countersuit was the initial middle finger, denying she had anything to do with his firing and accusing him of deliberately groping her. Her testimony Wednesday showed the kind of exasperated strength and refusal to be marginalized and belittled that proves why, regardless of your feelings about Swift’s public discourse in the past, she’s a celebrity that warrants our (albeit measured) admiration.

According to reports, Swift didn’t tip-toe around propriety or mince words explaining what happened, telling Mueller’s attorney that the radio host “grabbed my ass—underneath my skirt.”

She said, “It was a definite grab. A very long grab. It was a very shocking thing that never happened to me before.”

When Swift was asked to specify how long the grab was, Swift replied, “I don’t think it would be wise to estimate time in court, but I know it was long enough for me to be completely sure that it was intentional.”

She was even asked whether Swift was sure—seriously—if it had been her bare bottom that was groped, and not, say, over the skirt.

"Yes," she answered. "He stayed latched on to my bare ass cheek... I felt him grab onto my ass cheek underneath my skirt. The first couple of milliseconds I thought it must be a mistake, so I moved to the side very quickly so that his side would be removed from my ass cheek, but it didn't let go.”

After that she was asked again if she was sure. (Imagine your patience being tested in this way.) "Rather than grabbing my ass outside of my clothing, he grabbed my ass underneath my clothing," she said, succinct and explicit. "He was busy grabbing my ass underneath my skirt, so he didn't grab it outside of my skirt."

Swift testified for an hour, and was not cross-examined.

At one point, and maybe the most contentious point in the questioning, Mueller’s attorney asked about Swift’s relationship with her bodyguard, Greg Dent, who had been working the event in question. He asked her if she’d consider him one of the best bodyguards she’s had, to which she replied, “I don’t have a competition in my mind over best bodyguards.”

After the attorney established that Dent did not attempt to stop the groping or call security after the alleged incident, he asked her if she resented Dent or somehow held him responsible for allowing someone to grope her. Her response to that was her shining moment: “No, I am critical of your client sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass.”

When asked if she felt that Mueller got what he deserved by being fired, Swift gave the kind of response that should be bowed down to. “I don't feel anything about Mr. Mueller. I don't know him,” she said. “I don't have any feelings about a person that I don't know. I think what he did was despicable, horrible and shocking. But, I don't know him at all."

Taylor Swift literally invoked “I don’t know her” on the stand, glory be to Mariah.

At one point, Swift was shown the photo of her with Mueller in which she claims the alleged incident took place. She was asked why her skirt doesn’t appear to be lifted in the photo, if she claims that was when Mueller was groping her. Her response? Legendary. “Because my ass is in the back of my body.”

The courtroom laughed. Swift played to the crowd. “I named my cat after Dr. Olivia Benson from Law and Order.”

Clearly we’re characterizing Swift’s demeanor during the testimony in a very strong, feminist light—defiant responses to an offensive line of questioning skeptical of the version of events told by someone who claims to have been sexually harassed.

At the same time, there is the instinct to label Swift’s behavior on the stand as petulant or inappropriate. While there may be a traditional decorum in a courtroom that typically dictates a dialing down of the usage of the word “ass,” we take issue with that reading of events. (Versus, say, the twerpy, insubordinate, entitled behavior of Justin Bieber in a 2014 deposition video that was leaked and routinely mocked and derided.)

No, this isn’t Taylor Swift refusing to take responsibility for her behavior or questioning authority. This is Taylor Swift refusing to retreat from a confident and combative stance as a victim of an alleged sexual assault, in an environment and a culture that typically shames, discredits, and marginalizes women—even celebrities—who take that stance.

You can see that support play out among Swift’s fans on social media:

When Swift speaks out—which, some might argue, recently hasn’t been nearly enough—she doesn’t mince words, for better or worse. She’s been, arguably, problematic, hypocritical, spineless, and uneducated in statements she’s made on everything ranging from feminism to privilege to race to even friendship. And that doesn’t even take into account the issues she should have spoken out about but remained silent on.

But this is a case in which Swift is empowering, in which her one-time status as America’s superstar best friend can move the dial in an important cultural conversation. She took the stand Wednesday. And in a way, she also took a stance.