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Taylor Swift fights back tears on stage while recalling sexual assault verdict

Tuesday marked one year since a Denver jury sided with the singer after she accused a former morning show DJ of groping her. The singer unexpectedly opened up about it during a concert in Tampa.
Taylor Swift tearing up on stage on the anniversary of her sexual assault trial.
Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Taylor Swift performed for a stadium full of fans in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday night, and it was a long way — both physically and emotionally — from where she was just one year earlier.

On Aug. 14, 2017, the "Delicate" singer's lawsuit against a DJ accused of groping her came to an end in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado, with Swift walking away with a small award but a huge victory.

"I was there for a sexual assault case," she told the crowd on the anniversary of that verdict. "This is the day the jury sided in my favor and said that they believed me."

Some in the audience held up $1 bills as a sign of solidarity — the exact amount Swift was awarded in the case.

Former DJ David Mueller had sued Swift for $3 million after she accused him groping her at a meet-and-greet in 2013. She countered by suing him for that small sum.

But while speaking to her fans in Tampa, Swift turned her thoughts to other victims, who either never had their day in court or whose cases didn't end the same way.

"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 said. "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."

The 28-year-old hit maker sat at a piano emblazoned with the title of her tour, "Reputation," and played softly as she spoke.

"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 continued.

"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."

The audience erupted in applause while Swift appeared to tear up.

"Sorry," she told the crowd. "I just haven’t really talked about it, and so I’m not composed at all."