“Insights from Taylor Swift’s Former Bodyguards: Claims of Losing Cool and ‘Too Fan-Friendly’ Behavior”

Being one of the most famous people on the planet has made having bodyguards at all times a must for Taylor Swift. “I fought the idea of having security for a very long time because I really value normalcy,” she told Esquire in an interview from October 2014. The writer of the piece noted that the “Red” artist even had security on hand for the one-on-one interview.

Even when Swift goes out with her boyfriend, NFL player Travis Kelce, she’s accompanied by security guards. When the relationship was fairly new, reports circulated that Kelce had pushed one of Swift’s bodyguards out of the way while they were walking. The Kansas City Chiefs star refuted those claims. “If I [would’ve] pushed him, he probably would’ve turned [around and tased] me,” Kelce said about his girlfriend’s bodyguard while discussing the subject on his “New Heights” podcast in October 2023.

Swift’s bodyguards were the subject of discussion as Kelce and the Chiefs made the 2024 Super Bowl, and the popstar was set to attend. “She has a really talented security team. They liaison with our security team,” Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt told Chris Russo on SiriusXM (via USA Today). That talent was on display after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl and Swift partied at a club with Kelce. A viral TikTok video showed a bodyguard deftly stopping a fan from sneaking around Kelce to reach Swift. But in the past, Swift’s security has talked about why the singer makes their job so difficult.

Taylor Swift is ‘too fan-friendly’

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Greg Dent, a former bodyguard for Taylor Swift, took the stand in 2017 to testify for a lawsuit filed against the singer by former Denver DJ David Mueller. Swift claimed she was groped by Mueller when she posed with him for a photo during a meet and greet in 2013. She said Mueller had put his hand up her skirt while posing alongside his girlfriend. That caused Mueller filed a $3 million lawsuit against Swift for disparaging his name and ruining his radio career. The “Shake It Off” singer filed a $1 countersuit to take a stance on behalf of women everywhere.

During the trial, Dent — who was Swift’s bodyguard from 2008 to 2013 — discussed why it was difficult being security for the pop star. “I was always of the opinion she was too fan-friendly,” Dent said, per 9News. “She would stop for them under any circumstances. Too fan-friendly for me,” the former Swift bodyguard added. While on the stand, Dent said he did not react to Mueller groping Swift because the singer told him in the past that he was “too mean” to fans.

Years later, Swift made headlines for yelling at a different security guard for being too tough on her fans. A TikTok captured the interaction when Swift said, “Hey, stop!” to a member of security during a show in Philadelphia in May 2023. The video made the rounds, but it was not the only time Swift’s bodyguards had a viral moment.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Taylor Swift bodyguards who lost their cool

Lily Aldridge/Instagram
Seeking an old-fashioned good time, Taylor Swift went to Disneyland with her friend Lily Aldridge and the model’s kid in April 2016. Aldridge posted a photo from the trip to Instagram, which featured a snap of her and the “Bad Blood” singer on a ride. What made the photo so memorable was one of Swift’s security guards came along for the ride and remained stone-faced while keeping his earpiece in and sunglasses on. That bodyguard went viral for his composure, while other guards went viral for losing theirs.

A security guard named Davis Perrigo was working the pop star’s show in Nashville in May 2023 and went viral on TikTok when a fan captured footage of him passionately singing along to Swift’s hits as she performed. It turned out that Perrigo is an accountant who was just moonlighting as a security guard in order to get tickets to Swift’s show. “I actually got reprimanded by Taylor’s security, saying that I was going too hard and that I needed to take it down a notch,” he told News Channel 5 in May 2023. The following month another security guard went viral for a similar reason.

A security guard named Calvin Denker wanted photos with Swift as she performed in Minneapolis in June 2023. As a guard, Denker was forbidden from snapping pics, but he passed out cards asking concert-goers to take his photo while he protected the front row, per Fox 9. He was later fired from his security job for those actions.