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Taylor Swift Receives $1 Sacagawea Coin As ‘A Final Jab’ From David Mueller After Groping Case

By Ashley Hoffman
Published on: 01:44 PST, Dec 10, 2017

Taylor Swift won her lawsuit against David Mueller after she accused him of groping her at a 2013 photo-op. Swift requested that he pay her a symbolic $1. Mueller proceeded to sue Swift and claimed that she had falsely accused him of groping her at a meet-and-greet. Swift countersued, and a jury ordered Mueller to pay Swift.

At the time of the trial, Swift said that she asked for a symbolic $1 in damages because she hoped it would serve “as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”

The 10-time Grammy winner revealed that she never received the $1 dollar judgment she won during the August trial, according to the new “Silence Breakers” issue of Time magazine.

“When the jury found in my favor, the man who sexually assaulted me was court-ordered to give me a symbolic $1… To this day he has not paid me that dollar, and I think that act of defiance is symbolic in itself.”

Taylor Swift finally received her $1 in the form of a Sacagawea coin. Mueller previously told the Associated Press that the coin featuring a Native American woman was a “final jab” at the pop singer.

Sacagawea accompanied the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition in 1805 to 1806 through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back. Sacagawea’s skills as a translator were important. According to History.com, Sacagawea’s calming presence on both the expeditioners and the Native Americans was invaluable, as the strangers may have been otherwise hostile. Sacagawea carried out these duties while caring for the son that she gave birth to just two months before departing.

Mueller provided a letter showing the payment was sent on November 28, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, December 6.

David Mueller sued Swift for defamation when he lost his job at country music station 98.5 KYGO after she claimed he grabbed her butt during a meet-and-greet — she then countersued him and won the case.

Taylor Swift was featured in Time magazine’s Person of the Year issue. This was Swift’s first interview since the trial, according to Us Weekly.

“The brave men and women who have come forward this year have all moved the needle in terms of letting people know that this abuse of power shouldn’t be tolerated. Going to court to confront this type of behavior is a lonely and draining experience, even when you win, even when you have the financial ability to defend yourself.”

Initially, Mueller sought $3 million in damages from Swift in his original lawsuit. However, the lawsuit was dismissed in August after a judge ruled that he couldn’t prove that the singer got him fired from his job. Swift’s lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge, said at the time that she was “seeking $1 to show women you can say no.”

Mueller was interviewed by 955 Detroit’s Mojo in the Morning. David asserted any touching of Swift was completely accidental and harmless.

“What I was told that night and what I was told that day were different, but what I’m hearing now is that I stuck my hand under her skirt and grabbed her bare bottom… My right hand — I’m looking at the photographer and I’m trying to get my right hand, you know, behind Taylor, because [another DJ] was on the other side of Taylor.”

After a jury ruled in favor of Swift’s countersuit against former DJ David Mueller, the pop star announced that she would be donating money to organizations to help survivors of sexual assault, according to HuffPost.

“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.”

Maile M. Zambuto, the CEO of the Joyful Heart Foundation, said that her organization will be one of several that benefit from Swift’s donations. Zambuto said Taylor is aware of the work that the Joyful Heart Foundation has done in the past, so Taylor’s team got in touch with Zambuto. The Joyful Heart Foundation spoke with Taylor about her commitment to the foundation and how she wanted to be of service to sexual assault survivors across the globe.

The Joyful Heart Foundation was founded in 2004 by actress, director, and advocate Mariska Hargitay. The foundation is “a national organization with the mission to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.” Hargitay said that the foundation hopes to “end this violence forever.”

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