Photographer accuses Taylor Swift’s dad of punching him at Sydney waterfront

Meriam Bouarrouj and Dennis Romero and Patrick Smith

A photographer has accused Taylor Swift’s dad of punching him on a waterfront in Sydney, Australia, early Tuesday and has reported the alleged incident to the police.

Paparazzo Ben McDonald told the Associated Press news agency that Ben Swift struck him after he had stepped off a yacht with his daughter. Swift was in the country as part of her latest world tour.

“It was just a punch in the chops. It’s a little tender, but I don’t have any bruising and it didn’t require medical assistance,” he told the AP, using an Australian slang term for jaw.

He continued: “In 23 years, I haven’t been assaulted and punched in the chops, particularly by the talent’s dad.”

Image: (Ben McDonald / AP)
McDonald claimed he had not provoked the alleged violent response.

“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,” he said.

Swift recently performed multiple shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium and was in the area when two people approached her entourage early Tuesday, her team said in a statement.

“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 team said.

Police said on Monday they were investigating a report of an assault that apparently took place near Swift and her entourage, but declined to name anyone involved.

New South Wales Police Force said in a statement that it was investigating a report that “a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf about 2.30 a.m. before leaving the location.” No injuries requiring treatment were reported, police said.

Australia’s Sky News and Reuters reported that Swift’s father, Scott, had been accused and that a photographer was involved.

Police said the younger of the two men in the confrontation reported it to police. Officers with the force’s North Shore Police Area Command were assigned to investigate, it said.

Swift is scheduled to perform multiple dates in Singapore beginning Saturday before she moves on to scheduled stops in Europe as part of her Eras Tour.

 

Travis Kelce’s dad blasts ‘troll’ Bethenny Frankel over latest Taylor Swift remarks

Ed Kelce, the father of NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce, had no time for anyone trying to talk badly about the relationship between the Kansas City Chiefs star and Taylor Swift.

The elder Kelce on Friday slammed “Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel for doubling down on her remarks about the NFL player and the pop star’s romance.

 

Bethenny Frankel arrives for FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Jan. 23, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Frankel answered a question earlier this week over whether Travis was the “peacock” in the relationship. She likened the Kelce-Swift romance to one of her own previous flames and how the person she dated just wanted to “party.”

“But when you get into real life and you get into kids and marriage and things like that… it’s not easy [and] relationships take work,” Frankel added. “And it’s hard, because Taylor Swift is certainly a peacock. So they’re really usually can only be one peacock in a relationship.”

Ed Kelce caught wind of her comments and blasted her in a post.

“Who TF is this troll?” he wrote.

Taylor Swift hugs Ed Kielce after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Jan. 28, 2024 in Baltimore. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Ed Kelce appears to be fully behind his son’s relationship with the pop star. The two have celebrated the Chiefs triumphs together during the 2023 season.

Frankel previously criticized Swift in September for “chumming with” Donna Kelce in the suite of one of the Chiefs games.

“It felt like the Chia Pet of a relationship,” she said in September, according to Page Six. “Like, just add water. Like, they were together for 10 years. Like, she’s a full football wife. … She literally looked like she had been in a serious relationship with this guy for decades.”

Donna Kelce, front right and Ed Kelce, back left, and Scott Swift, back right, sit in a suite before Super Bowl LVIII between the Cheifs and the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Frankel noted at the time that Swift had a short fling with Matt Healy in the early days of the “Eras Tour.” She advised Swift to maintain her own identity.

Travis Kelce and Swift seem to be full-steam ahead with their relationship. Swift is changing words to her song “Karma” while the Chiefs tight end was in Australia to visit her last week.