Listen, “dad defends daughter from invasive paparazzi” is never going to sway the public to the side of the paparazzi. Nevertheless, police are looking into an incident between Scott Swift, father of pop star and world conqueror Taylor Swift, and a paparazzo in Australia. Taylor and her family were recently in Sydney for the latest stop on her blockbuster Eras Tour, and there, like everywhere else, the media is desperate for a piece of her.
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According to People, law enforcement is investigating an “alleged assault after a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf” around 2:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. “The younger man reported the incident and inquiries are now underway by officers attached to North Shore Police Area Command. The man did not require medical treatment,” police wrote in a statement.
Swift’s team responded to the incident with their own brief statement: “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,” her rep told People.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, veteran photographer Ben McDonald admitted he wasn’t initially sure who shoved him, believing at first it was one of Swift’s security guards before he “realized” it had been Scott. Video of the incident (obtained by TMZ) doesn’t clear up exactly what went down, because the singer’s security does a pretty good job blocking the cameras with open umbrellas. Clips show a figure that is presumably Taylor hidden with her entire torso underneath a large umbrella while Scott escorts her to the car, flipping off the cameras as he approaches. From there, there’s no clear angle of an assault. In McDonald’s footage, he experiences a jolt where he fumbles with the camera momentarily and an off-camera security guard claims “that wasn’t me,” to which McDonald asks, “Who was that?”
It’s not wise to tangle in a PR battle with Taylor Swift, and definitely not with her dad, whose recent press has included enjoying football games and being very sweet to Swifties. In the court of public opinion, a nice older man who hands out sandwiches to fans wins out over predatory paparazzi every time. We’ll see what happens if this incident ever reaches an actual court.
