"in minneapolis during the eras tour, security guard Calvin Denker was accused of breaking the photo policy while on the job." --Ruby Deetz, 7th grade
Security guard Calvin Denker was definitely in his Fearless Era when a video of him went viral on TikTok of him singing along to “Cruel Summer” at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Denker, however, thinks that HR was overreacting. “I was under the impression that what I was doing was a by-the-books way to handle this and get some memories from the night, but HR didn’t really see it that way,” said Denker. His job was to keep his back turned to the bejeweled singer and keep her safe while she was performing. None of the security guards were permitted to have their phones out while on the job. "I made sure that Taylor Swift was safe and all the fans had a good time," he insisted. "As long as I was at that concert, I was doing my job."
Denker claims to be a huge Swiftie and simply could not pass up the opportunity to document himself being at the Eras Tour.
"I was realizing how close Taylor Swift was getting to me, so I really wanted to get a photo to document it," Denker said. Being a security guard, and having to keep his back turned to the superstar, he got an idea. Denker handed small pieces of paper to the crowd on the second night in Minneapolis. “Hi, I’m not allowed to use my phone at any point tonight. Can you please take a photo of me with Taylor Swift behind me and text it to my phone number? Thank you so much, and enjoy the show,” the note said.
Several audience members seemed more than happy to fulfill such a simple request for Denker. However, when an audience member posted one of the videos to TikTok, it ended up going viral and drawing attention to his agency.
"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," he said. "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," said Denker.
Aphrodite Avidon, a 7th grader from the Literary Arts program at OSA says that if she were in the security guards place, she would've done the same exact thing. “I probably would ask someone to take a video or picture of me just as a favor to, you know, document a moment with Taylor Swift because she’s Taylor Swift,” says Avidon.
Avidon thinks that HR’s reaction to this was a bit too extreme. “I kind of feel like they were overreacting. If the audience members agreed to take a photo and send it to the security guard it wasn't a big deal. It didn't affect Taylor in any way,” she said. Avidon doesn't think what Denker did should've gotten him in any sort of trouble. “The security guard is there to make sure nothing bad happens and this wasn't really bad. As long as he’s keeping people safe then he’s doing his job. It’s fine.”
Avidon isn’t the only one who thinks HR was being unfair. 7th grade OSA Theater student Eleni Leventis thinks that the whole ordeal was completely unnecessary. “I think HR overreacted and that they should’ve taken a more subtle approach,” says Leventis. “It was harmless,” she says. “He was doing his job. He didn't do anything wrong.” Leventis says that if she were in Denker’s place she would have quit immediately, “I would’ve chosen to leave because I think HR blew things out of proportion and it really wasn't a big deal.” But Leventis does understand that this situation could have made the industry look unprofessional.
Denker was fired from his agency but was later re-hired by the same agency saying he’d shown “remorse” for the stunt he pulled at the Eras Tour. After the video of Denker went viral, his inbox was filled with requests for him to be a security guard at different concerts. He was later hired to be a security guard for an Ed Sheeran concert.
Despite his newly found fame among the security industry, Denker is now a full time software engineer as he has no plans whatsoever to pursue being a security guard at any point in time in the future.
Many people have very different opinions about what should’ve happened but in the end, Denker is happy being a software engineer and hopefully will be able to attend a Taylor Swift concert from behind the barricades and take as many pictures and videos as he likes.
Denker, however, thinks that HR was overreacting. “I was under the impression that what I was doing was a by-the-books way to handle this and get some memories from the night, but HR didn’t really see it that way,” said Denker. His job was to keep his back turned to the bejeweled singer and keep her safe while she was performing. None of the security guards were permitted to have their phones out while on the job. "I made sure that Taylor Swift was safe and all the fans had a good time," he insisted. "As long as I was at that concert, I was doing my job."
Denker claims to be a huge Swiftie and simply could not pass up the opportunity to document himself being at the Eras Tour.
"I was realizing how close Taylor Swift was getting to me, so I really wanted to get a photo to document it," Denker said. Being a security guard, and having to keep his back turned to the superstar, he got an idea. Denker handed small pieces of paper to the crowd on the second night in Minneapolis. “Hi, I’m not allowed to use my phone at any point tonight. Can you please take a photo of me with Taylor Swift behind me and text it to my phone number? Thank you so much, and enjoy the show,” the note said.
Several audience members seemed more than happy to fulfill such a simple request for Denker. However, when an audience member posted one of the videos to TikTok, it ended up going viral and drawing attention to his agency.
"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," he said. "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," said Denker.
Aphrodite Avidon, a 7th grader from the Literary Arts program at OSA says that if she were in the security guards place, she would've done the same exact thing. “I probably would ask someone to take a video or picture of me just as a favor to, you know, document a moment with Taylor Swift because she’s Taylor Swift,” says Avidon.
Avidon thinks that HR’s reaction to this was a bit too extreme. “I kind of feel like they were overreacting. If the audience members agreed to take a photo and send it to the security guard it wasn't a big deal. It didn't affect Taylor in any way,” she said. Avidon doesn't think what Denker did should've gotten him in any sort of trouble. “The security guard is there to make sure nothing bad happens and this wasn't really bad. As long as he’s keeping people safe then he’s doing his job. It’s fine.”
Avidon isn’t the only one who thinks HR was being unfair. 7th grade OSA Theater student Eleni Leventis thinks that the whole ordeal was completely unnecessary. “I think HR overreacted and that they should’ve taken a more subtle approach,” says Leventis. “It was harmless,” she says. “He was doing his job. He didn't do anything wrong.” Leventis says that if she were in Denker’s place she would have quit immediately, “I would’ve chosen to leave because I think HR blew things out of proportion and it really wasn't a big deal.” But Leventis does understand that this situation could have made the industry look unprofessional.
Denker was fired from his agency but was later re-hired by the same agency saying he’d shown “remorse” for the stunt he pulled at the Eras Tour. After the video of Denker went viral, his inbox was filled with requests for him to be a security guard at different concerts. He was later hired to be a security guard for an Ed Sheeran concert.
Despite his newly found fame among the security industry, Denker is now a full time software engineer as he has no plans whatsoever to pursue being a security guard at any point in time in the future.
Many people have very different opinions about what should’ve happened but in the end, Denker is happy being a software engineer and hopefully will be able to attend a Taylor Swift concert from behind the barricades and take as many pictures and videos as he likes.