Taylor Swift Eras Tour Security Guard Says He Was Fired for Asking Fans to Take Pics of Him

A security guard for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts in Minneapolis said he got in trouble after he asked fans to take photos of him with the singer behind him while he was working.

By Elyse Dupre Aug 24, 2023 3:34 PMTags
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This security guard is having a cruel summer.

According to Calvin Denker, he was fired for asking fans to take his photo while working at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert in Minneapolis. 

As Calvin explained in a June 28 TikTok, his job prohibited him from turning his back to the crowd to watch Taylor perform.

"I was realizing how close Taylor Swift was getting to me, so I really wanted to get a photo to document it," he shared. "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."

Though he said audience members were sweet about it, he soon found himself in trouble with his employer.

"My former security company said that they had a rule against taking photos with any of their performers," Calvin—who can be seen wearing a red polo from Best Crowd Management in his posts—shared in a separate TikTok earlier this month, noting that his follow-up video in which he talked about the photo request was the "main issue" and then adding, "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, 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."

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Celebrities Attending Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour

He insisted that each photo was "from behind the barricade like any other photo from a fan would be" and that he had still been fulfilling his duties.

"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," he added. "As long as I was at that concert, I was doing my job."

Jeff Kravitz/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

 

And he was hired again. In August, Calvin worked Ed Sheeran's Mathematics Tour, where he said everything seemed fine. 

"A couple managers talked to me just to make sure that I wouldn't be making any videos," he added. "But a lot of them were really cool and willing to give me a second chance."

As it turns out, he wasn't ready for what was to come.

"After I had completed seven hours of my shift," he continued, "I was told to go talk to HR, where the same woman who had called me a month ago was upset with me for still working even though I was assigned more shifts and I hadn't heard anything back from her."

Today, Calvin insists there's no bad blood. After all, "I still got to work one of the coolest concerts ever, and I got to work it twice," he said. "So, that is fantastic, and I hold no grudges against my employer." 

E! News has reached out to Best Crowd Management for comment but has yet to hear back.

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