A hero security guard insisted ‘I was just doing my job’ after footage of him protecting a Fendi shop in London from anti-fur protesters prompted calls for him to get a pay rise.
Protesters from Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) tried to storm the designer store on New Bond Street earlier this week, but the man held them at bay, tussling with them as they attempted to pull open the door.
When the Daily Mail visited the store today, the security guard, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I was just doing my job, those people were crazy and I kicked them out.’
A viral video of the chaos shared on social media shows blue-and-green-haired protesters chanting ‘blood, blood, blood on your hands’ through megaphones as the security guard tries to keep them from entering the shop.
The guard, dressed in a smart suit, became locked in a tug of war with protesters, who were trying to pull open the glass door as they attempted to force their way in.
Against all the odds, he thwarted their attempts to enter.
Later, the video shows five men in high-vis arriving as back-up before unceremoniously dragging a green-haired protester in fishnets out of the shop.
The chanting mob continues: ‘Shame, shame, shame on you, shame on you for what you do.’
Two private security guards told the Daily Mail that they were at the shop and helped disband the protesters that day.
They patrol all of Oxford Circus and said demonstrations like this one ‘happen all the time’ and have got worse in recent years.
‘There’s almost like a season,’ said one.
‘There’s a season when we’re really, really busy and a season when we’re quiet. So it depends. It goes up and down. Summer is probably [worse].’
The other private security guard said: ‘They had to come out of the shop. It’s private property. We asked them to leave, and if they didn’t we’d kindly escort them.’
Towards the end of the video, the demonstrators head 150 metres down the road to the Louis Vuitton shop, where a protester stood outside holding a placard with the message ‘Louis Vuitton, blood on your hands’ in fake blood.
Commenters on social media rallied behind the suited security guard who held the line before back-up arrived at Fendi.
One wrote: ‘Get a load of Man on Fire uncle was WORKING’.
Another added: ‘It’s nice to see a security guard actually securing’.
A third said: ‘This poor man is probably on minimum wage and a zero-hour contract and you’re all rinsing him.’
Others were quick to compare his energetic defence with that of the police, with one saying: ‘Security guard doing more than the police would’.
Another joked: ‘Make the security guard the Chief of the Met’.
While many took the side of the security guard, an equal number took aim at the anti-fur protesters and slammed their demonstration.
One sneered: ‘I don’t think they actually care what the cause is, just as long as it’s vaguely a lefty thing and they enjoy feeling like an “edgey” protester.’
Another said: ‘Not very bright, are they. You don’t stop a production line by attacking the sellers of the end product.
‘You gotta go to the source, the factories and warehouses where the animals are being bred and slaughtered for their furs. Shut down production and free the furries.’
There were similar scenes from anti-fur activists earlier this year when they stormed the same Louis Vuitton shop, but on this occasion, videos on social media showed security was overwhelmed by a larger group who managed to get into the high-end shop.
Suzie Stork, the executive director of CAFT protest group, told the Daily Mail that the protests only became violent after staff started manhandling activists.
She said in a statement: ‘The only violence witnessed was that of Fendi staff toward activists. Entering stores with placards to deliver a peaceful message is a common practice and protesters leave when asked. It is not “storming”.
‘In this instance, the doors were held open because they feared for the safety of the protesters inside, as security staff were attempting to trap them indoors.
‘We advocate for the abolition of fur and work with local groups running these campaigns. To date, our network has convinced 24 companies to divest from fur.
‘If Fendi wants public sympathy, it should end the ruthless practice of skinning animals for luxury fashion.
‘We currently have a campaign against Milan Fashion Week, which has so far refused to adopt a fur-free policy – unlike London and New York, which already have.
‘Fendi sits on the board of Milan Fashion Week and is likely holding back progress, as it remains one of the few brands still heavily using fur.
‘It will continue to be protested.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Fendi and Louis Vuitton for a comment.
