Key Points
- Taylor Swift’s father, Scott Swift, is reportedly being investigated for allegedly assaulting a paparazzo.
- Police said they were investigating a 71-year-old man over an alleged incident in Sydney early on Tuesday morning.
- The alleged incident occurred after the final night of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Australia.
Taylor Swift’s father has been accused by a photographer of assaulting him at a Sydney ferry wharf after the final concert of his
“Police have been told a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man,” NSW Police said in a statement.
The accuser — Ben McDonald, chief executive of Matrix Media Group — identified the man as Swift’s father, Scott Swift.
Neither required medical attention and Scott Swift left the location, police have been told.
McDonald said he had been photographing the US pop icon on a “super yacht” in Sydney Harbour, an apparent celebration after the last of her four sellout gigs in the city.
He alleged Swift’s security detail put an umbrella in his face to prevent him from taking photographs as she was walking down the jetty to a waiting vehicle.
After she departed, McDonald claimed a man confronted him and “took it further”.
“He punched me in the chops,” he told the AFP news agency.
McDonald said he initially believed the person who allegedly assaulted him may have been an overzealous local security contractor “trying to impress the Americans”.
“But I looked at photos and saw him holding hands with Taylor, and it was her dad,” he said.
“It was a shock. That’s never happened to me in 26 years.”
The incident came hours after the pop star’s seventh and final sold-out , a tour in which she played to more than 600,000 fans.
A spokesperson for Taylor Swift responded to the allegation with allegations of their own, claiming there had been pushing and aggression from unnamed people at the waterside.
“Two individuals were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel, and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water,” the spokesperson told AFP.
Swift’s representative did not comment on the alleged assault by the star’s father, or respond to requests for further clarification about what took place.
The megastar is in the midst of her worldwide blockbuster Eras tour, and is due to head to Singapore this week.
Police refused to comment on whether Scott Swift had been contacted or questioned in advance of the group’s departure.
Source Agencies
