Taylor Swift Holds Back Tears at Concert One Year After Sexual Assault Verdict
At Taylor Swift's concert in Florida last night, she opened up in an emotional speech about the sexual assault trial she won a year ago. Here's everything she said:
“A year ago I was not playing in a stadium in Tampa, I was in a courtroom in Denver, Colorado,” Swift started by saying. “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,” she said, holding back tears.
“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.”
“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 said, and then continued with her set.
Fans reportedly held up $1 bills after Swift's speech, which was the amount she sought in symbolic damages from David Mueller, the former radio DJ that assaulted her at a meet-and-greet in 2013.
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