Taylor Swift poses with fans at jury duty a day after VMA snub

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Taylor Swift was the most high-profile absence at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) but on Monday but the singer happily took photos with fans after reporting for jury duty in Nashville.

Swift, 26, was photographed by other potential jurors as she was waiting to be selected as a jury member ahead of a trial in a Nashville court, according to Twitter user Tracy Bates (@TracysActivism).

Bates had initially tweeted, “I am on jury duty with @taylorswift13” and said at first Swift’s security personnel initially would not let her take a picture. But later she posted a video and numerous photos, including a selfie with Swift, who was wearing a simple black dress and smiling, in the waiting room.

Bates said Swift was happy to pose with other potential jurors and she also posted an autograph from the pop star that said “So nice to meet you!!”

While Bates was happy to snap the star doing her civil duty, she said she did not consent for any media to use her photos, saying they were not for sale. Another user who posted a photo of Swift with her mother on jury duty made her account private.

Swift, named Forbes’ top-earning female celebrity this year with $170 million in earnings, did not receive a single nomination at Sunday’s MTV’s VMAs and did not appear at the New York show.

She was however mentioned on stage by rapper Kanye West, with whom she has a long-running feud, as he rambled about asking her for permission to use her in an explicit lyric in his song “Famous.”

A representative for the singer did not respond for comment on Swift’s jury duty or on West’s VMAs speech.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Melissa Fares; Editing by Bill Trott)