El Monte Lifeguards Ask For Their Jobs At City Council Meeting
EL MONTE (CBSLA.com) — The 14 El Monte lifeguards fired for filming and posting a spoof of the viral Korean pop music video "Gangnam Style" asked the City Council for their jobs back at Tuesday night's meeting.
The lifeguards – which include a supervisor who did not appear in the video – were fired earlier this month after their version, called "Lifeguard Style," was posted to YouTube.
City officials say the lifeguards were fired for using city property – lifeguard uniforms and the pool facilities – in the unapproved video.
However, public support has been overwhelmingly in favor of the lifeguards, whose Facebook page, "Bring back the 14 El Monte Lifeguards," had more than 14,000 likes as of Tuesday. The group has also created a Facebook event page, inviting their fans to speak at Tuesday's night's meeting.
The controversy has even attracted the attraction of Korean pop star Psy, who called for the city to reconsider during the MTV Video Music Awards.
"Unfortunately, I'm a rookie here. When I become a big star here, I really want to help them out because that's not fair. I don't think so," Psy told MTV News. "What did they do? They weren't wrong? I think it was off duty – that's what I heard. They can be more flexible to each other."
»RELATED STORY: El Monte Lifeguards Fired Over 'Gangnam Style' Video Remake
