An Australian photographer on Tuesday filed a complaint with police in Sydney regarding an alleged assault by Scott Swift, the father of musician Taylor Swift, state broadcaster ABC said.
New South Wales Police said in a statement they were “investigating an alleged assault on Sydney’s North Shore this morning”.
“Police have been told a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf about 2.30am [on Tuesday], before leaving the location,” the statement said.
I didn’t know who he was, but I looked at photos and saw him holding hands with Taylor
The accuser, Ben McDonald, identified the man as Taylor Swift’s father.
McDonald said he had been photographing the US pop icon on a “super yacht” in Sydney Harbour after the last of her four gigs in the city.
He alleges that Swift’s security put an umbrella in his face to prevent him from taking photographs of the singer, who was walking down the jetty to a waiting vehicle.
‘Swift effect’ hits Singapore with hotels, flights booked out
‘Swift effect’ hits Singapore with hotels, flights booked out
After Swift departed, McDonald claimed a man confronted him and “he punched me in the chops”.
“I didn’t know who he was, but I looked at photos and saw him holding hands with Taylor, and it was her dad.”
“It was a shock. That’s never happened to me in 26 years,” he said.
Australian police do not usually publicly identify people accused or alleging crimes.
Taylor Swift is currently in the midst of her worldwide blockbuster Eras Tour.
She heads to Singapore this week for the next leg of what is expected to be the highest-grossing musical tour of all time at over US$1 billion, according to Pollstar.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse