Taylor Swift Fights Back Tears at Her Concert on the Anniversary of Sexual Assault Trial Verdict
For Taylor Swift, Aug. 14 will always be a bittersweet day.
While on stage in Tampa Tuesday as a part of her Reputation tour, Swift, 28 nearly broke down in tears as she opened up about her 2017 groping trial.
“A year ago I was not playing in a stadium in Tampa, I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado,” Swift bravely began. “This is the day the jury sided in my favor and said that they believed me.”
“I guess I just think about all the people that weren’t believed and the people who haven’t been believed, and the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed,” Swift continued.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would have taken if somebody didn’t believe me when I said something had happened to me.”
RELATED VIDEO: Swift Victory! Jury Rules Former Radio Host Assaulted Taylor Swift During Meet and Greet, Awards Singer $1
“So I just wanted to say we have so much further to go, and I’m so grateful to you guys for being there for me for what was really a horrible part of my life,” Swift said as fans cheered loudly from the audience.
“I wanted to thank you for just kind of… I mean I know when I meet you guys at meet-and-greets and after the shows, you guys tell me about the hard times that you’ve gone through in your lives and I really appreciate you trusting me with that information.
“And you know you guys have seen me go through so many ups and downs in my life just due to the public nature of the way my life is, and I just wanted to say that I’m so happy to see you and to have you and know you through the ups and the downs in my life.
“Sorry I just haven’t really talked about it, and so I’m just not composed at all,” Swift added before continuing with her set.
RELATED ARTICLE: Taylor Swift Groping Trial: A Timeline of Everything That’s Happened in Court
After her impassioned speech, many in the audience held up $1 bills, the symbolic amount she was awarded following her case against former radio host David Mueller.
In August last year, after a six-day civil trial court, a jury in a Denver courtroom ruled that Mueller assaulted and battered the singer when he grabbed Swift’s backside at a meet-and-greet photo session at the Pepsi Center in June 2013.
Mueller initially sued Swift after the incident saying he lost his job at the Denver radio 98.5 KYGO station after Swift’s team accused him of assaulting her, but the judge ruled against him.
“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 sexual assault,” Swift said in a statement to PEOPLE following the trial.
“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.”
