A security guard working at Taylor Swift’s recent The Eras Tour has been let go after passing notes to fans asking them to take photos with him while on duty.
Calvin Decker went viral earlier this summer when a video showed him enthusiastically singing along to “Cruel Summer” during Swift’s June show at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Decker had taken the security job mainly to attend Swift’s concert without buying a ticket and was positioned in front of the center stage.
In a TikTok post after the first concert, Decker admitted he passed slips of paper to audience members in front of him asking them to text him any photos they took that featured both him and Swift, since the pop star was getting so close to him during the performance.
“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,” Decker explained. “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.”
However, Decker’s ploy led to his termination, as the security company he worked for, Best Crowd Management, prohibits staffers from taking photos with performers while on duty.
“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,” Decker claimed in a follow-up video.
He pointed out that all the photos of him were taken from behind the barricade like a regular fan and that he never took out his own phone. Decker said he offered to delete the original TikTok video but didn’t hear back from the company for over a month. He was then scheduled to work an Ed Sheeran show, where managers let him know he couldn’t make any more videos but was given a “second chance.”
However, after working a 7-hour shift at the Sheeran concert, Decker was informed by HR that he was being officially terminated. Despite the firing, the erstwhile security guard harbors no ill will towards his former employer.
“Please don’t go sending any hate to this company. I just wanted to update all of you because it was a very popular TikTok for me, so I wanted to let all of you know what had happened,” Decker told followers. “I still got to work one of the coolest concerts ever, and I got to work it twice, so that is fantastic, and I hold no grudges against my employer.”
The incident highlights the strict rules surrounding access to major music stars like Swift. However, it seems Decker ultimately achieved his goal of seeing his idol’s concert up close, even if it did cost him his job. The viral video of him enthusiastically singing along with Swift will likely go down as the highlight of his brief stint working security for the pop superstar.
