A security guard who went viral for singing along with a Taylor Swift song while working at her concert says he was fired for asking fans to take his photo with the star.
Calvin Denker, who worked for the security company BEST, went viral on TikTok when a fan recorded him singing along to “Cruel Summer” at one of Swift’s Minneapolis shows in June, per Daily Mail.
Denker posted a reaction video to the clip where he explained handing out his phone number to fans in the front row, asking them to take his photo when Swift came near him and then text it to him. He admitted that he took the job partly because seeing Swift perform for free was his “goal.”
@anmaloney Security guard carried section A2! 🎶 @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation #taylorswift #erastour #tstheerastour #minneapoliststheerastour ♬ original sound – Alisa Maloney
“After night one I was realizing how close Taylor was getting to me, so I really wanted to get a photo to document it,” Denker said of the experience. “So, I handed out these little pieces of paper that said I wasn’t allowed to have my phone out but if Taylor Swift comes right behind me, please take a photo of me and text it to my number.”
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Denker said on social media that this move resulted in his termination.
“Long story short I was fired for it,” Denker said in a video update. “My former security company said they had a rule against taking photos with any of the performers. The main issue that they had was with my follow-up video where I said that I handed out pieces of paper to ask to be sent any photos that I made my way into.”
“Above all else, I made sure that Taylor Swift was safe and all the fans had a good time. I was doing my job.”
“The HR woman who called me wasn’t able to articulate exactly what I did wrong,” Denker added.
Since the news of the incident, Denker has been offered other employment.
“I have been extended the opportunities to work for several other security companies since the TikTok,” Denker told The Messenger. “I might decide to take a job interview or two, but this security gig was always meant as my fun job in my free time, and I am a full-time software engineer.”