Taylor Swift Eras Tour Security Guard Claims He Was Fired for Asking Fans for Photos of Him With Singer
A security guard for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour claims he was fired from his job in Minneapolis because he asked fans in the audience for photos of him with the star during her concert.
According to Variety, Calvin Denker initially applied to be a security guard for the Eras Tour in order to attend the show without paying for the high-priced, in-demand tickets.
He subsequently went viral after being captured singing along to Swift's songs during her show at U.S. Bank Stadium back in June.
In a TikTok video posted on June 28, Denker explained more about his experience as an Eras Tour security guard.
"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. 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," he said.
Denker added he did receive a few photos from fans, which was "very generous" of them.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift Fan Becomes Security Guard to Get Into Eras Tour
However, in a new update video posted Aug. 17, Denker shared some "unexpected" news: He was allegedly fired by Best Crowd Management after they learned about him handing out notes to fans.
"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, which is what happens at any other concert, with the only exception being that I made sure I got any that I was included in. 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 claimed.
Denker said that the company's HR department never followed up about the Swift concert, nor did they schedule him for more shifts.
Denker later worked a seven-hour shift during an Ed Sheeran concert at the same venue.
"A couple of managers talked to me just to make sure that I wouldn’t be making any videos, but a lot of them were really cool and willing to give me a second chance," he said, claiming he was officially fired following that concert.