Taylor Swift’s father has been accused of assaulting a photographer after the singer’s concert.
Paparazzo Ben McDonald claims he was punched by 71-year-old Scott Swift following the final night of his daughter’s Eras tour in Sydney, Australia.
51-year-old McDonald, who is the chief executive of picture agency Matrix Media Group, was photographing Taylor as she got off a yacht at the Neutral Bay wharf around 02:30 on the Sydney Harbour on Monday.
Footage of the incident, published by Australian media, shows Taylor who is concealed beneath an umbrella, walking with her father and security guards.
According to The Guardian, Mcdonald claims Taylor got off the boat and walked down the wharf, when security allegedly pushed umbrellas into his face and camera.
Once Taylor had entered the car, McDonald alleges that her father Scott struck him in the face before also getting in the car and driving away.
‘In 23 Years of Doing This, I’ve Never Been Assaulted’
“He charged in and punched me in the face,” McDonald tells ABC News.
“In 23 years of doing this, I’ve never been assaulted, let alone been punched in the face by a father.”
Australian police are now investigating the allegation made by the photographer that he was assaulted by Scott.
“Police have been told a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man,” the New South Wales Police say in a statement, without naming Taylor’s father Scott.
“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.”
‘Agressive’
A spokesperson for Taylor addressed the reports of Scott’s involvement in an altercation with the Australian photographer. They said that two people were aggressively pushing to get to the megastar and threatened a member of the singer’s staff.
“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,” Swift’s representative tells Rolling Stone in a statement.
However, McDonald claimed that he did not provoke the incident and says that the photographers were “civil” when Taylor got off the boat.
“In 23 years, I haven’t been assaulted and punched in the chops, particularly by the talent’s dad,” he tells Sky News.
“We didn’t go rushing down the jetty. We didn’t go rushing to the back of the boat. We waited for her to come up. Kept it very civil.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.