Pop icon Taylor Swift’s father has been accused of assaulting a paparazzi photographer in Australia.
Ben McDonald, a Sydney paparazzo, told Australia’s national broadcaster that he had filed a police report accusing Scott Swift of punching him in the face.
“In 23 years of doing this I’ve never been assaulted, let alone been punched in the face by a father,” the ABC quoted McDonald as saying.
Police in the state of New South Wales said in a statement they were investigating an alleged assault by an unnamed 71-year-old man in the North Shore area of Sydney.
“Police have been told a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf about 2.30am (Tuesday 27 February 2024), before leaving the location,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“The younger man reported the incident and inquiries are now underway by officers attached to North Shore Police Area Command.”
A spokesperson for Taylor Swift told Rolling Stone two people were acting “aggressively” towards Swift and her entourage when the alleged incident took place.
“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 said in a statement.
Swift, one of the most successful music artists of all time with 14 Grammy wins and hundreds of millions of album sales worldwide, wrapped up the Australian leg of her worldwide tour on Monday with a show in front of 81,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
Swift will perform in Singapore on Friday in the first of six shows in the Southeast Asian city-state.
