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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Fired DJ Denies Touching Taylor Swift’s Butt

DENVER (CN) - A Denver disc jockey sued Taylor Swift, claiming she got him fired by falsely accusing him of touching her butt after a concert.

David Mueller, pka Jackson, was fired from his $150,000 a year job at Denver's 98.5 KYGO "Ryno and Jackson" morning show in June, after working as a radio host for more than 20 years.

He claims he lost his job over an incident that never happened, at a backstage VIP meet-and-greet at the Pepsi Center in January 2013. Mueller claims that KYGO program director Eddie Haskell [sic] told him he had to go to the backstage event as part of his job.

Mueller claims that he and his girlfriend, nonparty Shannon Melcher, exchanged a few words with Swift, that "Swift suddenly announced it was photo time" and put her arm around Melcher, and that he "jumped into the photograph at the last second."

He says Swift "cordially thanked" them for visiting, hugged Melcher and shook his hand. He says that Swift "remained pleasant as she bid them goodbye."

A few hours later, a member of Swift's security team named Craig told Mueller that Swift had accused him of "grabbing Ms. Swift's bottom while he and Ms. Melcher were being photographed with Ms. Swift."

Mueller says he told Craig it never happened and asked him to call the police, but he did not. One of Swift's managers then told him he was "banned for life" from her concerts, and KYGO fired him two days later, Mueller says.

The 8-page complaint indicates that Mueller appears to think it was his boss, Eddie Haskell, who touched Swift's butt.

He claims that Haskell told him that night "that Ms. Swift had recognized him and yelled out, 'Eddie!' and then had rushed to him and given him a big hug."

The complaint continues: "He [Haskell] described and demonstrated how he had put his arms around her, hands on her bottom, and then explained that he and one of his friends in the industry think Ms. Swift must wear bicycle shorts under her stage outfits."

Mueller seeks two years of lost pay, or $300,000.

He sued in June in Denver County Court and asked the case to be removed to Federal Court on Sept. 10.

He is represented by M. Gabriel McFarland, with Evans & McFarland, who was not available for comment Tuesday. Nor were members of Swift's management team.

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