California Aquatic Center fires 14 lifeguards and their manager for making ‘Gangnam Style’ parody video on city property

The city of El Monte, Calif. fired 14 lifeguards and one manager at its municipal Aquatic Center Wednesday after making, on their own time, a spoof video of South Korean pop star Psy's ‘Gangnam Style.’

Lifeguards perform the K-pop rapper's famous "horse-riding dance."


It seems that not everyone appreciates humor on the job.

Fourteen lifeguards and one manager in Southern California were fired Wednesday after recording a spoof video of South Korean pop star Psy's "Gangnam Style."

The El Monte Aquatic Center lifeguards filmed their video, "Lifeguard Style," off the clock, on their lunch break while waiting for their next shift to begin.


They recreated scenes from the comedic hit video, parodying the K-pop rapper's famous "horse-riding dance," in which he imitates the movement of an equestrian.

Fourteen Californian lifeguards were fired from a city pool in El Monte, Calif. on Wednesday after making a racy parody of pop star Psy's ‘Gangnam Style’ music video.

But management did not get the humor and called it "inappropriate and disgusting," according to a petition supporting the lifeguards on Change.org.

Alexander Huerta, an employee for seven years, thinks management overreacted when it fired the lifeguards and manager Gabriel Gonzalez, who did not even appear in the video.

The lifeguards said they created the video to have fun memories before returning to college.

"I strongly believe that the termination," Huerta told NBC, "was unjust, overexaggerated, and could have been handled more effectively."

The city issued a statement noting that the employees signed an agreement not to use city property, which includes their bathing suits, for private use.

They recreated scenes from the comedic hit video.

"The video was made just to have fun memories before we go back to college," one lifeguard Juliet told KTLA.

The lifeguards created a Facebook page, "Bring back the 14 El Monte Lifeguards," protesting their termination. The page has close to 2,000 likes.

A scene from the original ‘ Gangnam Style’ music video by Psy.

"So sorry," a supporter posted on the Facebook page. "We seem to have mostly lost our sense of humor and ability to have fun while at work. Cannot believe you were fired for this video … You should all get your jobs back!"

The lifeguards are also inviting supporters to attend an El Monte city council meeting on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.