Taylor Swift’s Team Issued a Statement After Allegations That Her Dad Punched a Paparazzo

After an Australian photographer accused Scott Swift, father of megastar Taylor Swift, of assault, the singer’s team has given their side of the story.

A Sydney photographer named Ben McDonald claims that Scott, 71, punched him as he was trying to take pictures of the musician, and has filed a complaint with the police, per CNN. “In 23 years of taking pictures, I have never seen anything like it,” McDonald told The Daily Mail. He said he didn’t know why Scott would (allegedly) hit him but speculated, “He probably decided he needed to defend his daughter, for some reason.”

The incident occurred as Taylor was leaving a yacht in Sydney Harbor and getting into her car, and you can see video from two angles on TMZ, though neither capture a clear view of the altercation. It looks like Scott did confront McDonald, but as for a punch, it’s hard to tell. McDonald claimed that Swift’s entourage was “aggressive and unprofessional.”

But according to Team Swift, the photogs were the aggressive ones. In a statement given to multiple outlets, a spokesperson for Taylor gave more context, claiming that “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.”

As discovered by one intrepid TikToker, this isn’t the first time McDonald has been accused of crossing the line between working hard to get the story and inappropriate intimidation. In 2005, Aussie actor Nicole Kidman was granted a restraining order against him, not because he pushed in on her but because he allegedly planted a listening device on her property, near her home.

In response to Team Taylor Swift’s refutation, McDonald spoke to the Mail again, saying, “This is the sort of bullsh-t I might expect…Which female [staffer] was that? The only [woman] there was Taylor.”

This story may be updated.