A Nashville judge has dismissed pop star Taylor Swift as a potential juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case.
Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office spokesman Ken Whitehouse says Swift told the judge on Monday that she was concerned because of an upcoming trial in Denver involving allegations she was groped by a fan at a meet-and-greet.
Whitehouse says Swift, 26, told the judge she is more than willing to serve on a jury in any other type of case.
Whitehouse says the judge thanked her and let her leave.
Swift happily took photos with fans after reporting for jury duty.
Swift was photographed by other potential jurors as she was waiting to be selected as a jury member ahead of a trial in a Nashville court, according to Twitter user Tracy Bates (@TracysActivism).
Bates had initially tweeted, “I am on jury duty with @taylorswift13” and said at first Swift’s security personnel initially would not let her take a picture. But later she posted a video and numerous photos, including a selfie with Swift, who was wearing a simple black dress and smiling, in the waiting room.
Bates said Swift was happy to pose with other potential jurors and she also posted an autograph from the pop star that said “So nice to meet you!!” While Bates was happy to snap the star doing her civil duty, she said she did not consent for any media to use her photos, saying they were not for sale. Another user who posted a photo of Swift with her mother on jury duty made her account private.
Swift, named Forbes’ top-earning female celebrity this year with $170 million (Dh624.2 million) in earnings, did not receive a single nomination at Sunday’s MTV’s Video Music Awards and did not appear at the New York show.
She was however mentioned on stage by rapper Kanye West, with whom she has a long-running feud, as he rambled about asking her for permission to use her in an explicit lyric in his song Famous. A representative for the singer did not respond for comment on Swift’s jury duty or on West’s VMAs speech.
