Photographer Claims Taylor Swift’s Father Assaulted Him on Sydney Waterfront

MELBOURNE, Australia—A photographer informed the authorities that Taylor Swift’s father struck him in the face on the Sydney waterfront on Tuesday, shortly after the conclusion of the pop star’s Australian tour.

Ben McDonald stated that he provided the police with a statement alleging that Scott Swift attacked him at the Neutral Bay Wharf, where the father and daughter had just disembarked from a yacht.

The experienced paparazzo mentioned that he chose to report the incident to the police even though he was not seriously harmed.

“It was just a punch in the face. It’s a bit sore, but I don’t have any visible bruises and didn’t need medical attention,” Mr. McDonald explained.

“In my 23 years of experience, I have never been physically assaulted, especially by a celebrity’s father,” he added.

Ms. Swift’s spokesperson accused the media members of being confrontational during the encounter.

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“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 mentioned in an email.

The New South Wale Police Force media office verified that they were investigating an alleged assault of a 51-year-old man by a 71-year-old man at 2:30 a.m. Police refrained from disclosing names in line with their policy concerning such accusations.

Ms. Swift departed the country on a private jet on Tuesday following the conclusion of her Eras Tour, which attracted over 600,000 fans to seven stadium concerts in Australia.

Mr. McDonald mentioned that the media was waiting to capture images of the star as she walked with her group from a jetty to two awaiting cars.

“There were around four or five security guards there, and at one point, one of the American security personnel started pushing his umbrella towards me and my camera, and then Taylor entered her car,” Mr. McDonald informed The Associated Press.

“Another individual approached me and punched me on the left side of my face. Initially, I assumed it was an Australian security officer trying to act heroically in front of the Americans, but it turned out to be her father,” Mr. McDonald elaborated.

Mr. McDonald found out that the person who allegedly attacked him was not part of the security team after seeing a photo of him holding Ms. Swift’s hand while reviewing pictures from that evening. Mr. McDonald later identified Mr. Swift from an online image.

Mr. McDonald mentioned that there was no justification for the violence.

“We didn’t rush down the jetty. We didn’t rush to the back of the boat. We waited for her to come up. We kept it very civilized,” he stated.

“But no, they had to behave rudely and put up umbrellas over her and then push the umbrellas into our faces and then make us out to be the ones initiating contact with them,” he added.

By Rod Mcguirk