Taylor Swift Excused From Nashville Jury Duty Due to Pending ‘Grope’ Case

Taylor Swift’s reason for missing MTV’s Video Music Awards Sunday wasn’t because she was snubbed or because she was avoiding Kim and Kanye. Actually, Swift had a pretty civic excuse–she was called in for jury duty.

The pop superstar appeared in a Nashville, Tennessee court room Monday after being selected as a potential juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case. However, she was quickly dismissed by the judge due to a different pending sexual assault lawsuit.

Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office spokesman Ken Whitehouse explained, “She asked to be left off out of concern for an upcoming trial in Denver where she was–she used the term ‘groped’–by a fan at a meet-and-greet.”

The “fan” refers to Colorado DJ David Mueller, who filed a lawsuit first against Swift, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his job at 98.5 KYGO over false allegations that he grabbed Swift’s butt while taking a photo.

Swift’s lawyers countersued, claiming, “Mueller did not merely brush his hand against Ms. Swift while posing for the photograph. He lifted her skirt and groped her.”

Because of this pending legal matter, Swift successfully argued that she couldn’t be impartial in the rape case. According to Whitehouse, Swift told the judge she would be more than willing to serve on a jury in any other type of case.

Before leaving the courtroom, Swift was nice enough to pose for pictures with fans, even filming a video message for one fan’s loved ones.

Taylor is doing Jury Duty in Nashville today. She took some pictures with fans. pic.twitter.com/jQunn8HcNT

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) August 29, 2016

Taylor inside doing Jury Duty in Nashville earlier today. pic.twitter.com/OV0govxfEr

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) August 29, 2016

Even though Swift was absent from Sunday’s award show, she definitely wasn’t forgotten. Kanye West name dropped Swift during his speech, which came before he premiered his new Flashdance-esque “Fade” music video.  West once again reiterated that he gave Taylor a courtesy call about his song “Famous,” alluding to their most current feud.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.