Selfies, so many selfies
Pop sensation Taylor Swift shocked the world this weekend when she did a VMA awards no-show.
The rumour mill went into overdrive: had the number one selling artist dodged the awards ceremony because of her long-running feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (both in attendance)?
No, she was completing her jury duty instead — sparking off a bit of a social media meltdown.
First, there were the tweeters who praised a “down to earth” Swift for attending jury selection.
Taylor Swift serving Jury Duty earlier this morning w/ others in Nashville – so down to earth, @taylorswift13 ? https://t.co/G6gB2TWWQS
— Taylor Swift Updates (@SimplySFans) August 29, 2016
taylor swift had jury duty. celebrities: just like us!
— alyssa (@gyIIenswifts) August 29, 2016
…not that it’s required by law or anything.
Then came the, perhaps inevitable, flood of juror on juror selfies.
when your dad has jury duty with taylor swift … pic.twitter.com/9dAqklemiN
— anna clare (@annaclare15) August 29, 2016
SO
So my grandma in nashville had jury duty with @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/Iak8Bof9gw
— Gerrit Wortel (@WortelGerrit) August 30, 2016
MANY
Met @taylorswift13 today at jury duty. She is so nice. #civicduty pic.twitter.com/07rg0cYgW6
— Ƞ₳₮ĦȺ₦ ĦɄ฿Ƀ₳ɌÐ (@n8foo) August 29, 2016
SELFIES
Even superstar Taylor Swift attends Jury duty!! It's like her own real life version of Law And Order! pic.twitter.com/38ogS1JKts
— TT4Taylor (@TT4Taylor) August 29, 2016
Even her bodyguards were snapped hanging out in the court.
What happens when Taylor Swift reports for jury duty: several men in suits & ear pieces guard the halls, courtroom. pic.twitter.com/KRLn5BE0b0
— Hayley Mason (@WSMVHayleyMason) August 29, 2016
Unfortunately, Swift’s courtroom performance was short-lived.
It has been reported the 26-year-old pop star has been excused from jury service because she felt as though she couldn’t be impartial. This is because the case in question had a sex attack element, and Swift is herself involved in an ongoing sexual assault case.
While some spectators have questioned whether Swift actually managed to wriggle her way out of the case because of her celeb status, criminal barrister Max Hardy reckons that’s probably not what’s happened. He said:
In an English rape trial any prospective juror, celebrity or not, who disclosed involvement in proceedings civil or criminal relating to sexual matters would almost certainly be asked to stand by.
So, that’s the end of the Taylor Swift/jury duty social media hysteria. Looks unlikely we’ll be getting a repeat of the (brilliant) moment a judge in California used snippets from Swift’s greatest hits in the summing up of a plagiarism case involving the starlet.
