Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Wisconsin Pizza Delivery Guy Gets To Meet Taylor Swift After He Saves Kidnapped Woman's Life

Wisconsin Pizza Delivery Guy Gets To Meet Taylor Swift After He Saves Kidnapped Woman's Life

Steve Granitz/WireImage, GettyImages, @48hours/Twitter

Joey Grundl, a driver for Domino's Pizza in Wisconsin, is being hailed a hero after saving a kidnapped woman.

On September 27, 2018, the 24-year-old from Waldo, approached the victim's house to drop off the pie and Dean Hoffman, the woman's ex, answered the door.

That's when he saw the woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman and silently crying for help.


Grundl told WITI Milwaukee:

"I gave him his pizza and then I noticed behind him was his girlfriend. She pointed to a black eye that was quite visible. She mouthed the words, 'Call the police.'"

Grundl returned to his car and promptly called 911.

When Sheboygan County Sheriff's Deputies arrived at the residence, Hoffman tried to block the woman from opening the door. Eventually, they were let in and arrested Hoffman when they saw the abused victim.

Taylor Swift eventually caught wind of Grundl's heroic act. Fans tagged her in pictures of Grundl being interviewed while wearing a hoodie from the singer's "Reputation Tour."


Grundl already planned to attend Taylor's concert in Arlington, Wisconsin, but his big reputation prompted the singer to arrange a meet and greet with him backstage.

Are you ready for it?

After being starstruck, Grundl tweeted on Saturday:

"She … she knew who I was."

He added jokingly:

"I'm thoroughly convinced Taylor gave me a cold."

On a serious note, he became emotional after reflecting on a crazy week.

"This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life. I'm legitimately getting emotional and I almost never get like this. But as the likely most memorable week of my entire life comes to an end … I guess I can really say … I'm doing better than I ever was."


According to the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office report, Hoffman, 55, had barged his way into his ex-girlfriend's home around 1 p.m. and tried to force her back into a relationship with him.

He allegedly punched her in the face, dragged her by the hair up the stairs, hog-tied her with a vacuum power cord and gagged her with a towel.

The 57-year-old woman told Hoffman:

"If you love me, you will let me go."

Hoffman reportedly replied:

"You know I can't do that."

He also told her he shouldn't have left his gun in the car so that he could shoot them both.

The victim later told investigators "she was sure she was going to die tonight."

A .22-caliber firearm was later found in the trunk of Hoffman's vehicle.

According to a criminal complaint, the two started dating in 2016 and lived together until August 2018. When they broke up, the woman moved into a new home – the location of Grundl's pizza delivery.


According to Newsweek, Hoffman was charged with kidnapping, suffocation, strangulation, false imprisonment and intimidation of a victim.

He is placed on suicide watch in the booking area holding cells after mentioning taking his own life to law enforcement and a suicide note left while he held his ex-girlfriend captive.

In addition to being a Swiftie, Grundl is also a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. After being spotted wearing a baseball cap bearing the team's logo, radio host Steve Palec gave him a hero's welcome.

Well done, Joey!

Taylor Swift's new album Lover is available for pre-order here.

---------

Listen to the first episode of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!', where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from People

Donald Trump speaking in the Oval Office
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Moments After Threatening To Bomb Iran, President Trump Just Revealed His Birthday Wish—And It's Irony At Its Finest

President Donald Trump's 80th birthday is this week and his claim that his birthday wish is "peace for the world" had people raising their eyebrows, especially considering it came after he threatened to bomb Iran again.

Earlier this week, Trump declared in a post on Truth Social that Iran's military "is a complete and total mess" and bragged that most of their forces have been "completely defeated," adding:

Keep ReadingShow less
Matt Damon leads The Odyssey, though the film's Trojan Horse popcorn bucket is currently stealing the spotlight online.
Courtesy of Universal Pictures

We Just Got Our First Look At The Official Popcorn Bucket For 'The Odyssey'—And Everyone Is Making The Same Joke

At this point, movie studios aren't competing at the box office. They're competing to see who can create the most unhinged popcorn bucket.

We've had giant sandworms. We've had oversized Deadpool & Wolverine helmets. We've had designer handbags full of popcorn. We even somehow survived the predictably lackluster Melania Trump popcorn bucket era. Now, The Odyssey has entered the chat with a Trojan Horse popcorn bucket, because apparently subtlety died somewhere around 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabretooth from the 'X-Men' franchise; Tyler Mane
Marvel Entertainment; @therealtylermane/Instagram

'X-Men' Star Has Important Wakeup Call For Men After Revealing He's Been Diagnosed With 'Super Rare' Breast Cancer

Breast cancer does not discriminate between people. While it is more common in women, one out of 755 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Because "breasts" are associated with women, people—including doctors—often do not recognize early signs of breast cancer in men, so they are less likely to be diagnosed until a later stage, which makes treatment more difficult.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Evan Pfeufer's yearbook
@evanpfeufer/Instagram

New York Man's High School Yearbook Prediction From 2020 About This Year's Knicks Is Going Viral

Will the New York Knicks win it all in this year's NBA finals? It sure looks that way, and one New York man has known it would go like this since 2020.

Evan Pfeufer is going viral after showing off his yearbook prediction from his high school graduation in 2020.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump Has Everyone Doing A Double-Take After Admitting That He 'Loves The Inflation' In Bonkers Clip

Trump Has Everyone Doing A Double-Take After Admitting That He 'Loves The Inflation' In Bonkers Clip

On Wednesday during a White House signing ceremony in the Oval Office, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump was asked whether he was concerned about the latest economic data released by his administration.

The reports showed inflation surged in May to the highest level in three years, from 2.4% a year ago to 4.2%.

Keep ReadingShow less