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Joey Grundl poses with Taylor Swift.Courtesy Joey Grundl/Instagram
Taylor Swift recently did her part to honor a hero. Domino’s employee Joey Grundl, who is a devoted Swift fan, was delivering pizzas in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, September 26, and when he arrived at one home to drop off an order, he knew something wasn’t right.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn kept their romance relatively private, but there were plenty of milestones to look back on prior to their April 2023 split. Swift’s relationship with the U.K. native was made public in May 2017. One year later, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that the Grammy winner believed that Alywn was […]
Grundl, 24, told NBC News he arrived at the house to make a “normal delivery,” but soon saw a woman with a black eye standing behind the man who opened the door. “She mouthed ‘help me’ to me, and then after, when the guy left to get money, she mouthed ‘call the police.’”
Aware something was clearly wrong, Grundl then headed back to Domino’s, which was about an eight-minute drive away, and called 911. Police arrived shortly thereafter and discovered the man later identified as Dean Hoffman was holding the woman against her will.
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According to a police report, Hoffman and the woman, whose name has not been released, previously dated. Hoffman reportedly showed up at the woman’s home unannounced earlier that day and forced his way inside. The woman, who was rescued by police thanks to Grundl’s actions, later told authorities she was tied up and physically assaulted by Hoffman. She also noted that had it not been for Grundl, she was “sure she was going to die” that night.
“We are so proud of Joey, he went above and beyond to do the right thing,” a Domino’s spokesperson tells Us Weekly. “He is a shining reminder that kindness and quick action can make anyone a hero.”
During an interview about his heroic actions, Grundl was sporting a Taylor Swift sweatshirt, and news of what he had done eventually made its way to the “Delicate” singer. Though Grundl already had tickets to the Reputation tour in Texas, the pop star, who recently vocalized some of her political beliefs for the first time, made his experience even better by inviting him backstage to meet her at the show.
“So a thing happened last night,” Grundl shared on Instagram on Sunday, October 7, alongside a snapshot of him and Swift, 28. “The Brewers won. Oh and I hugged a famous person.”
