A security guard who was working at one of Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour shows was given the boot after he asked fans to take pics of him during the concert. And honestly, I would do the same — especially with the Ticketek shitshow that was the horrid waiting lounge.
Keeper of safety in the day, Swifite at night. Calvin Denker (@Calvindenker) was a security guard who gained virality on the internet after a fan posted a video of him singing along to Swift’s “Cruel Summer” while he was working at Bank Stadium in the US.
Although the video was innocent, Denker was fired for his cheeky Swiftie stunt that went viral on the internet.
To give you the 411 on this Swiftie: Denker — who has since admitted that working for Swift “was the goal” of his job — handed out notes to fans asking for pics if the “Look What You Made Me Do” singer came close to him.
“After night one, I was realizing how close Taylor Swift was getting to me, so I really wanted to get a photo to document it,” Denker said, recalling the viral “Cruel Summer” video.
“So I handed down 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. And I handed this out to a couple of people in the front row for night two, and they were really kind and really sweet about it.”
In a recent TikTok update, Denker revealed that the company he worked for fired him due to an employee guideline that prohibited staffers from taking pics with performers.
“Every photo of me from that night was from behind the barricade like any other photo from a fan would be. I never took my own phone out. And above all else, I made sure that Taylor Swift was safe and all the fans had a good time. As long as I was at that concert, I was doing my job,” Denker said in a TikTok update.
He also claimed that he was actually fired a couple of days after he made the first TikTok.
“When I got a call saying that I would be fired. On the call, I asked what would happen if I deleted my TikToks, and the HR woman said that she would talk to her boss and see what could be done,” he said.
“I kind of waited and waited. And then, after more than a month, I never heard anything until I actually got scheduled to work with Ed Sheeran.
Denker shared that he ended up working for the “Lego House” singer, and everything seemed normal.
“A couple of managers talked to me to make sure I wasn’t making any videos, but a lot of them were really cool and willing to give me a second chance,” he added.
He was then properly fired after seven hours of working for the Ed Sheeran concert.
At the end of the video, Denker pleaded for fans not to send hate to the security company for their decision.
“I just wanted to update all of you because it was a popular TikTok for me, so I wanted to let you all know what had happened. I still got to work one of the coolest concerts ever, and I got to work it twice, and that is fantastic,” Denker said.
“And I hold no grudges against my employer.”
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is so hot right now.
Like, it was such a struggle to get one (1) fucking ticket in that terrible week.
A bunch of the girlies here at PEDESTRIAN.TV unfortunately missed out on tickets, but it is what it is.
Instead of groaning about missing out, I think I might follow Denker’s footsteps and secure a bag whilst securing a view of Swift’s show.
It’s a win-win situation.
Image Source: TikTok / @CalvinDenker
