A Tourist Was Kicked Out of Graceland After Jumping in Elvis's Pool
A video of the incident amassed 14 million views on TikTok.
To some people, private property doesn't really mean much if you're a hardcore fan of someone. Or at least, that's what Tommy Purcell and his wife seemed to think when Purcell himself decided to take a dive into Elivs' pool in Graceland, the late singer's mansion.
A TikTok video posted by Purcell's wife, which was originally posted on July 6, recently went viral racking up around 14 million views, and it shows Purcell being filmed jumping into the pool. Graceland is now a popular tourist site, and fans of Elvis can visit the Memphis, Tennessee property through a mansion tour.
In the video, Purcell is seen stepping over a fence, which reads "Restricted Area: Do Not Enter." Then, the man, who is only wearing his shorts and shoes, proceeds to hop onto the diving board and jump in the pool. On the notes of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up," a security guard is then seen rushing over to the pool intruder. According to a later video, the family was then escorted off of the mansion's premises.
Critics of the fan were quick to express their disagreement with the move, but it didn't really make the self-proclaimed "Elvis fans" couple reconsider their actions. According to Purcell's wife, who then posted a response video to the critics, those who question her husband's actions are just "jealous," considering that "that's what a pool is meant for, to jump into." She also decided that Elvis himself would have agreed with the dive. "Elvis caught someone jumping in his pool once and he never stopped them," she says in the video. "He never got them arrested, told them to stay in the pool."
The comment section of the original video is torn on the matter. To some people, the actions were plain disrespectful. "How is this funny?" wondered one person. "People are so disrespectful and I hope he got arrested." Others, however, disagreed, and saw the dive as a pretty funny social media stunt. "He did what was worth it," said one user. "Ha ha bet not many can [say] they took a dip in Elvis Presley pool." And others, finally, saw it as a chance to crack a joke. "I think Elvis would say 'finally someone used the pool.'"