The Biggest Controversies Surrounding Taylor Swift's Dad

Taylor Swift's father, Scott Swift, made headlines in early 2024 when an Australian paparazzo claimed he'd hit him. February 26 saw outlets across the globe report that an Australian photographer was pressing charges against Scott for assault. Speaking to CNN, Ben McDonald alleged that Scott had punched him as he waited to photograph Taylor exiting the wrap party for the Australian portion of her Eras tour. It appears that McDonald may have neglected to mention what led up to that point, though.

Also speaking to CNN, a rep for Taylor noted, "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." The statement didn't specifically mention McDonald, so perhaps he ended up in the crossfire. However, something seems a little fishy. Especially because, back in 2005, People reported that Nicole Kidman was granted a restraining order against McDonald based on his aggressive conduct, which left her concerned for her safety. Clears throat. 

The incident down under isn't the first time Scott has been linked to some kind of dispute. Even so, it's pretty clear that Scott's so-called controversies have been in his daughter's best interest and just prove how close he and Taylor are. 

In 2019, Scooter Braun acquired the rights to Taylor Swift's music, kicking off a feud for the ages. However, one particularly damning accusation that came out during that time was that Scott Swift, who ended up making money off the deal, knew all about it ahead of time. 

In a statement published on the Big Machine Label Group website, the company's CEO, Scott Borchetta, claimed that Taylor's father had been invited to join a call with other shareholders, where the sale would be outlined. What Borchetta didn't mention is that Scott opted not to attend (more on that in a sec). Things began looking even shadier in 2023 when Music Business Worldwide revealed that Scott had earned $15 million as a result of the sale of Taylor's masters. 

That Scott made that much money off a deal Taylor has slammed so openly certainly isn't a good look. However, according to an unnamed insider who was privy to the situation, his involvement was completely misrepresented. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the source claimed that while Scott had been invited to the meeting, he opted out when he realized the ironclad NDA he'd need to sign would mean he was legally prohibited from telling his daughter what was said. To be honest, that checks out — given how outspoken Taylor has been over the situation, we don't doubt that if her father had done something sketchy, we'd hear it from the singer herself. 

The sale of Taylor Swift's music catalog wasn't the only thing that raised some eyebrows in Scott Swift's direction in 2019. His social media also came under scrutiny when a Facebook account bearing his name seemed to have shared a number of conservative posts. As seen in screenshots obtained by Daily Mail, one of those included a "Blue Lives Matter" post, and another was about trying to include illegal immigrants as dependents on his latest tax return. 

It's unlikely the posts were actually his. As was noted by Daily Mail at the time, they hadn't been able to verify if the account had been hacked. The sign that points most to there being no truth to the controversy is Scott's own comments in Taylor's 2020 Netflix documentary, "Miss Americana." In one scene, Scott shared that Taylor's choice to speak out against Marsha Blackburn's 2018 run for Senate concerned him. His reasoning? While he shared her concerns about Blackburn, he was anxious that speaking about politics could jeopardize her safety. "I totally agree with the issue ... the bottom line right now, I'm terrified. I'm the guy that went out and bought armored cars."

Ultimately, the tragic truth is that every time Scott has been reported to be involved in some controversy, it's because he's been prioritizing his daughter's wellbeing.