A security guard who went viral on TikTok in June for singing along to Taylor Swift while on duty at one of her Eras Tour concerts said he was fired after asking fans to take photos of him in front of the singer.
Calvin Denker, who worked front of stage security at Swift’s two Minneapolis tour dates, said in a TikTok video last week that he had lost his job at Best Crowd Management after bosses discovered his ploy via a TikTok he posted in June.
Fan footage of Denker singing along to Swift’s “Cruel Summer” at one of the shows held at the U.S. Bank Stadium has been watched 2.9 million times on TikTok.
After the clip went viral, Denker identified himself in a TikTok of his own, which has 1.6 million views. In the clip, Denker said that he had passed out notes to a handful of concertgoers in the front row asking them to text him photos of him and Swift when she appeared behind him.
But in an update posted on TikTok last week, Denker said he had been let go from his security job as his actions went against the rules outlined by the company, which does not allow staffers to take photos with performers.
“Long story short: I was fired for it,” Denker said, adding that the company’s “main issue” was with his admission that he had asked audience members to send him photos that he “made my way into.”
Denker took issue with the reason behind his termination, stating: “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,” he said.
Despite the debacle, Denker asked his followers not to send “hate” to the company, and added that he holds “no grudges against my employer” as he “got to work one of the coolest concerts ever.”
Representatives for Best Crowd Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Back in June, Denker shared how he applied for the job after speaking to security staff who worked Swift’s 2018 Reputation Tour at the U.S. Bank Stadium. He said he wanted to avoid paying for tickets to the wildly expensive Eras Tour.
Denker said he “wasn’t allowed to turn his back to the crowd and really watch Taylor perform,” which led to his unique plan to “document” his time at the concert.
“After night one, I was realizing how close Taylor Swift was getting to me,” he said in the 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.”
Denker said that he did not pass a note to the person who posted the widely shared TikTok of him passionately singing, as she was actually a few rows back, but he was nevertheless “so happy to see me going viral.”
