Just breathe, Taylor Nation.
The jury is in. Taylor Swift was awarded her counter-claim for assault and battery. She will receive her symbolic $1 dollar. Mueller’s claim against Andrea Swift and Frank Bell was denied. The jury deliberated for 4 hours to reach that verdict. A victory, bittersweet as sexual assault victories are, means a lot more than just that dollar.
Taylor’s very aware of the ramifications, as she says in her statement:
I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process.
I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.
Taylor Swift
As it has been pointed out by several people in comment sections around this topic, you don’t have to like Taylor Swift or her music. Nobody deserves to be sexually assaulted. Yes, there are other people that symbolize the struggle that victims of sexual assault encounter when trying to bring their perpetrators to justice.
I’m not trying to rally the troops here. There was no conviction in this case. Mueller has to pay a dollar. He has, however, been judged by a jury as guilty of assault and battery – that will follow him for life. And yet, to get to this point where a privileged, protected and powerful young woman was almost forced to pay $3M to her own attacker – I don’t have to say alleged anymore – she had to go to civil court and withstand cross examination with the world watching.
Small victory, that seems it should’ve been over sooner. Now imagine someone without the means, without the media attention, and with less resources fighting an even more upscale battle. The odds don’t seem fair, do they?
Sexual assault, battery, rape and any forms of violence are wrong. It’s not about boys being boys, it’s not women asking for it, it’s not because of a short skirt, you never, never assume. You have zero rights to touch a woman without consent. Doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter who she is. She does not deserve it and no man is entitled to sexual favors ever regardless of whatever you’ve seen in a TV ad or in a music video. No means no. But if this is too hard of a concept to grasp, I give you a different one: Unless she says yes, the answer is always no.
Respect.
The Swift Agency 