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

Stefan Molyneux; Charlie Kirk
@StefanMolyneux/X; Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Far-Right Podcaster Gets Epic Fact-Check After Claiming Charlie Kirk Never Called Anyone A 'Fascist'

Stefan Molyneux, an Irish-born Canadian White nationalist podcaster who promotes conspiracy theories, White supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement, jumped to MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's and his fellow hatemonger Charlie Kirk's defense on X.

Writer Peter Rothpletz (Peter Twinklage) shared Trump's widely criticized Truth Social post about Rob Reiner after the actor, writer, director, philanthropist, and activist and his wife were murdered.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tucker Carlson; Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images

Tucker Carlson Dragged After His Conspiracy Theory Prediction About Trump's Speech Is Way Off

Former Fox News personality turned far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson was widely mocked after he made a bold prediction about what President Donald Trump would announce during his primetime address to the nation on Wednesday—namely that the U.S. would go to war with Venezuela.

But it turns out Carlson was very, very wrong. The speech was nowhere near that consequential and Trump spent the majority of it complaining about former President Joe Biden.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; JD Vance
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images

AOC Has Iconic Reaction After She's Asked If She Could Beat JD Vance In 2028 Presidential Election

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had quite the response to recent polling that suggested she could beat Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical 2028 presidential election.

A new poll from The Argument/Verasight shows Ocasio-Cortez narrowly edging out Vance in a hypothetical 2028 presidential matchup, with 51 percent of respondents backing her and 49 percent supporting him.

Keep ReadingShow less
marathon runner on starting block
Braden Collum on Unsplash

People Break Down The Greatest Comeback Stories They've Ever Heard

At the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, runner Billy Mills won the 10k meter race—the first and still only runner from the United States to win Olympic gold in the 10k.

Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakȟóta tribe of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux Nation) from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Mills' Mother Grace died when he was 8 years old and his Father Sidney died when he was 12.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Who Work In Someone Else's Home Share The Most Revealing Things They've Noticed

Going into strangers' homes isn't the most fun thing to do.

I always get nervous.

Keep ReadingShow less