(Sydney) An investigation was opened Tuesday in Australia after a complaint from a photographer claiming to have been assaulted by the father of American singer Taylor Swift, police announced.
“Police were informed that a 71-year-old man was accused of assaulting a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf”, a ferry terminal in Sydney’s north, “before leaving the scene”, said a spokeswoman Alicia McCumstie. “The younger man reported the incident and the investigation is ongoing,” she added.
The photographer, Ben McDonald, told AFP that his alleged attacker was the pop star’s father.
He said he was taking photos of Taylor Swift on a yacht on Sydney Harbor after her tour in the city when, he said, members of the singer’s security held up an umbrella in front of him in order to to prevent her from continuing as the singer went down to the pier to join a vehicle.
After his departure, the photographer claimed to have been “hit in the ribs” by a man. “I didn’t know who he was, but I looked at the photos and I saw him holding Taylor’s hands and it was her dad,” he continued. “It was a shock, this had never happened to me in 26 years,” he added.
Australian police do not usually release the identities of people under investigation.
This case comes as Taylor Swift travels this week to Singapore, the only stop in Southeast Asia on her major The Eras tour.