Psy ‘Gangnam Style’ controversy: California lifeguards fired after posting spoof on YouTube

EL MONTE, Calif. - It’s "Gangnam" gone wrong for a bunch of lifeguards who lost their jobs after creating a spoof of the popular video by a South Korean rapper.

13 California lifeguards and their supervisor were fired for using the city’s pool facilities without permission after they posted their take on Psy’s "Gangnam Style" video on YouTube that has been viewed more than a million times.

“We just wanted to do it for fun and to commemorate our summer. We never thought it would have blown up to something like this,” fired lifeguard Yvonne Tam said in an interview on "Good Morning America."

El Monte, California officials didn’t think it was so fun.

“There was a clear unauthorized use of city resources,” city officials said in a released statement.  

The lifeguards involved have gotten positive feedback from an online petition and Facebook page they created to get their job backs. Residents told El Monte city council what they think about the decision Tuesday night.

“It’s just a case of the punishment not fitting the crime,” one supporter said.

Even the rapper behind the hit has weighed in with a show of support for the lifeguards.

“I’m begging you to do not fire please,” Psy said on MTV News.

The pool is far from the first public place where people have broke out in "Gangnam" dance. It's been done at the U.S. Naval Academy, on "Saturday Night Live" and in Times Square on "Good Morning America."

"Gangnam Style" has become a global sensation, garnering more than 200 million views on YouTube and spawning a dance craze.