It’s a cruel summer for the security guard who went viral for singing along to Taylor Swift’s catchy tune during her pit stop in Minneapolis.
Calvin Denker, who was recorded with his eyes closed while belting out Swift’s hit “Cruel Summer” at the foot of the US Bank Stadium stage in Minnesota in June, was fired shortly after the show for allegedly asking concertgoers to send him photos of himself with the superstar in the background.
The “blue feeling he’s got” cams after footage of Denker’s performance was posted to TikTok, where it has been viewed nearly 3 million times.
With his newfound social media fame, Denker took to TikTok to share how he landed a position at security service Best Crowd Management, putting him in arm’s reach of Swift as she performed her record-breaking three-hour and 30-minute, 44-song show.
“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 explained, though he wasn’t able to turn his back from the crowd or use his phone during the concert per the security company’s policy.
“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,” Denker added, noting that he gave the laminated paper “to a couple people in the front row.”
Despite scoring a few pics of himself with Swift, Denker was axed from the position after his colleagues at Best Crowd Management saw the video.
While his former employer reportedly had no problem with Denker jamming out to Swift’s set, they did not approve of the staffer crowdsourcing photos of himself with Swift, he claimed in another TikTok posted last week captioned “unexpected story time.”
“The company said that they had a rule against taking photos with any of the performers, and the main issue that they had was with my follow-up video where I said I handed out pieces of paper to the people in front of me to ask to be sent photos that I made my way into,” Denker explained.
“Beyond that, the HR woman who called me wasn’t able to articulate exactly what I did wrong because I didn’t do anything beyond asking for photos.”
The Post has sought comment from Best Crowd Management.
Denker argued it wasn’t unusual for security guards to appear in the background of photos at concerts.
“I never took my own phone out and above all else I made sure Taylor Swift was safe and all fans had a good time,” he added.
Swifties flooded Denker’s latest video with comments tagging Swift and asking the 33-year-old “Shake It Off” singer to hire the security guard herself.
Others outraged by Denker’s firing also argued that he did nothing wrong, with one advising Denker to consult a lawyer for wrongful termination.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
