Shortly after Taylor Swift’s Australian tour concluded on Tuesday, a photographer reported to the police that he was struck in the face by her father when they were walking along the waterfront in Sydney.
Ben McDonald reported that he gave police a statement in which he claimed that he was assaulted by Scott Swift at the Neutral Bay Wharf, where the father and daughter had just landed off a yacht.
Despite not being gravely hurt, the seasoned paparazzo said he chose to report the attack to the authorities.It was merely a chopsticks punch. While it’s a little sore, there are no bruises, and no medical attention was needed,” McDonald remarked.
“I haven’t been hit and kicked in the ribs in 23 years, especially not by the talent’s father,” he continued.
Representatives for Taylor Swift accused the media of being hostile during the exchange.
The representative said in an email that “two people were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel, and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water.”
The media office of the New South Wale Police Force verified that the police were looking into the claim that at 2:30 a.m., a 71-year-old man had assaulted a 51-year-old male. As per their procedure for such complaints, the police did not disclose identities.
Following seven Australian stadium concerts that drew over 600,000 spectators for the Australian leg of her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift departed the nation on a private flight on Tuesday.
McDonald added that as the celebrity and her entourage made their way from a dock to two waiting automobiles, photographers were waiting to take pictures of her.
McDonald told The Associated Press, “There were about four or five security guards there, and at one point, one of the American security guards started shoving his umbrella into me and my camera, and then Taylor got in her car.”
Another person charged at me and struck my left side of the face with a punch. “At first, I believed it was an Australian security officer attempting to steal the show in front of the Americans, but it turned out to be her father,” McDonald continued.
Looking through old pictures from the evening, McDonald claimed to have noticed a picture of him holding Swift’s hand and recognized then that his supposed attacker was not a member of the security detail. Later, McDonald recognized Scott Swift from a photo on the internet.
McDonald stated that there was no reason for aggression.
We took our time walking down the jetty. We took our time making our way to the back of the boat. We bided our time until she emerged. remained rather polite,” he remarked.
“However, they had to be (expletives) and raise the umbrellas and cover her, then thrust the umbrellas in our faces while pretending that we are the ones interacting with them,” he continued.
