Taylor Swift gives emotional speech on one-year anniversary of sexual assault trial

'This is the day the jury said that they believed me'

(Reuters) (Reuters)

This time last year, Taylor Swift won a sexual assault case against radio DJ David Mueller, who sued her for $3m after he was fired from his job following claims he lifted her skirt and grabbed her bum at a meet-and-greet.

Swift promptly filed a countersuit and sought just one dollar in damages, which the jury awarded her.

Playing at her Tampa Reputation concert on Tuesday, Swift marked the one-year anniversary of the trial, thanking her fans for their support.

“A year ago I was not playing in a stadium in Tampa. I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado,” a teary Swift told the stadium crowd.

“This is the day the jury sided in my favour and said that they believed me.

“I guess I just think about all the people that weren’t believed and people who haven’t been believed and the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed,“ Swift added.

”And I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would take if people didn’t believe me when I said that something had happened to me.”

During her emotional speech, the Grammy winner also declared that “we have so much further to go” when it comes to better justice for sexual assault victims and thanked her fans for standing by her during “a horrible part of my life.”

To show their support, many of the singer’s fans posted photos of themselves on Twitter and Instagram holding a symbolic one-dollar bill.

“Happy dollar day Taylor Swift! Thank you for being so brave and for speaking up for those who can’t,” one person wrote.

Another added: “It’s been one year since Taylor Swift won her assault case for only one dollar. I’m so proud of you.”

Following the trial, Swift has made donations to several organisations standing with survivors of sexual assault including RAINN and the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Taylor Swift’s full speech:

“So, I just went to, just looking back, this exact day a year ago, I was not playing a sold out stadium in Tampa, I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado, and honestly, I was there for a sexual assault case, and this day a year ago was the day that the jury decided in my favour and said that they believed me.

“And I really—I’m not—I don’t want to, I guess I just think about all the people that weren’t believed and people who haven’t been believed and the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed.

“And I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would take if people didn’t believe me when I said that something had happened to me. And so I guess I just wanted to say that we have so, so, so much further to go, and I’m so grateful to you guys for being there for me during what was a really, really horrible part of my life.

“So I just wanted to say that, and I wanted to thank you for everything, and to thank you for, I know that when I meet you guys in meet-and-greet before and after 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’ve seen me going through so many ups and downs of my life just due to the public nature of the way my life is, and I just wanted to say I’m so happy to see you and to have you and to know you through the ups and downs of my life. So thank you for everything. [Swift pauses, emotional].

“Sorry, I just haven’t really talked about it, and I’m just really not composed at all."