Radio Host Testifies: I Did Not Grope Taylor Swift

Eight jurors — six women and two men — will decide the two suits and they listened Tuesday in United States District Court here as both sides outlined their cases.

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Ms. Swift’s lawyer, Douglas Baldridge, hammered at Mr. Mueller’s credibility during cross-examination, raising, for example, the disappearance of recordings that Mr. Mueller had secretly made of conversations with his bosses about Ms. Swift’s allegations. And while Mr. Mueller said he had filed suit to clear his name, not to win a specific amount in damages, he acknowledged to Mr. Baldridge that he had hired an expert who determined the termination had cost him nearly $3 million.

Mr. Mueller also acknowledged a strained relationship with his superiors at KYGO before the encounter with Ms. Swift and he noted that his suit targets only Ms. Swift and her associates, not the station or its executives.

“He wants you to give him the payday,” Mr. Baldridge told the jurors. “He is trying to make the victim pay the price.”

Ms. Swift, who also is scheduled to testify, sat with her lawyers and looked at Mr. Mueller occasionally during his testimony. At times she appeared to be taking notes which she shared with her mother. It is unclear when Ms. Swift will take the stand.

Mr. Mueller’s voice was shaky at the start of his testimony under questioning by his lawyer but grew steadier. Pressed hard for answers during the cross-examination, his voice occasionally rose in pitch and several times he looked toward the judge, as if for support, when questions came in a barrage.

His lawyer, Gabriel McFarland, said in his opening statement that his client, who was with his girlfriend during the photo shoot, had no reason to jeopardize a lucrative job and a budding relationship by groping Ms. Swift.

Mr. Mueller repeatedly denied groping Ms. Swift. He said that he reached out with his right arm and a closed hand and “felt what seemed to be a rib cage” with his knuckles as he rushed to get into position for the photograph. In that image, which was shown to jurors Tuesday, Ms. Swift is standing at a slight distance from Mr. Mueller, whose right arm is extended behind her back and toward her bottom. His hand is not visible and is it not possible to see whether the back of her skirt has been moved.

Under questioning from Mr. Baldridge, Mr. Mueller said “it’s possible” his hand came into contact with Ms. Swift’s bottom, and if so she had a right to tell KYGO officials.

Mr. Mueller also testified about a conversation he said he had with his boss, Hershel Coomer, known professionally as Eddie Haskell. He said Mr. Coomer, a longtime acquaintance of Ms. Swift, told him that he had greeted her at the Pepsi Center by putting his “hand on her butt.” Mr. Mueller described Mr. Coomer going on to speculate that the singer wore bicycle shorts under her stage outfits. Mr. Mueller said he did not give that account to imply Mr. Coomer had groped Ms. Swift.

Ms. Swift’s lawyer said Mr. Coomer would testify that he never said the things Mr. Mueller has attributed to him.

Mr. Baldridge described Ms. Swift as “a woman that’s taking a stand through this case for all women, including my daughter.”

Ms. Swift’s fans rose early for a chance to see her in court and filled a quarter of the courtroom. The presiding judge, William J. Martínez, set aside 32 seats for the public in the courtroom and 75 in an overflow room with a closed circuit video feed of the proceedings.

Lucy Peterson, 17, arrived at the downtown Denver courthouse just after 4 a.m. Tuesday with two friends from her Denver high school to seize the first places in a line that had grown to two dozen by 8 a.m. Ms. Peterson said she believed many of Ms. Swift’s admirers had experienced sexual harassment and looked up to the star for speaking out about something that others might be embarrassed or afraid to address.

“It’s shedding light on the issue and I hope bringing more attention to it,” Ms. Peterson said. “Her experiences,” she added, “they’re not different from ours.”

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