Taylor Swift’s dad escapes charges over clash with paparazzi photographer during her Eras Tour visit
Taylor Swift’s father has escaped after an Australian photographer accused him of punching him in the face after the superstar’s final show in Sydney.
Swift had been performing her final Australian show of The Eras Tour when the alleged incident occurred in the early hours of February 27.
She and her father, Scott Swift, 71, had traveled from Homebush on a luxury yacht to the ferry terminal in Neutral Bay, where Scott was then accused of punching waiting photographer Ben McDonald, 51.
An investigation into the alleged incident was launched by the North Shore Police Command.
NSW Police have since confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that no further action was taken following the incident.
Taylor Swift and her father, Scott Swift, 71, had traveled from Homebush on a luxury yacht to the ferry terminal in Neutral Bay, where Scott was then accused of punching photographer Ben McDonald, 51, in the face
A spokeswoman for Taylor Swift told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the photographers were “aggressive.”
“Two individuals aggressively pushed their way towards Taylor, grabbed her security staff and threatened to throw a female staff member into the water,” she said.
However, Mr McDonald – the CEO of Matrix Media Group – branded the statement “complete nonsense” and said Taylor was the only woman at the scene.
Mr McDonald said: ‘This is the kind of bulls**t I would expect.’
‘Which woman was that? The only one there was Taylor.”
The alleged incident took place after Swift’s final show in Australia for The Eras Tour
Footage from the moments before the alleged altercation showed Scott walking onto the dock while giving photographers the middle finger.
Mr McDonald said the alleged altercation was caught on camera and did not show the photographers behaving aggressively.
He initially thought it was a security guard and was shocked to realize the alleged attacker was the pop star’s father.
Mr McDonald also said he did not know what prompted the alleged attack.
“In 23 years of taking pictures, I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
Matrix Media photographer Ben McDonald (pictured) was reportedly punched in the face by Taylor Swift’s father, Scott
“She got off the boat and walked towards the guards who were shoving umbrellas in our faces.”
Footage of the alleged incident showed Taylor and her father leaving the dock with large umbrellas blocking the view.
Mr McDonald started shooting when a security guard was heard telling him not to touch the umbrella.
The photographer did not require medical attention but said he had “very painful chops” on the left side of his face.
Scott was a fixture at his daughter’s side during her sold-out Eras Tour.
He has been praised for handing out sandwiches to fans in the middle of a show in Sydney and saying ‘help yourself’.
Additional tickets were released the day before Taylor’s first show in Melbourne last month, but most had limited views of the stage.
Scott walked around handing out VIP passes so that excited fans would have access to better seats.