Did Jennifer Aniston's Entourage Get a Hotel Employee Fired?

Aniston's People Say the Hotel Employee Broke a Confidentiality Policy

A hotel worker in New Mexico claims Jennifer Aniston's "entourage" got him fired after they overheard him saying nice things about the actress … but that's not the whole story.

Terry Siegler, a shuttle driver for the Encantado Resort in Santa Fe, tells TMZ.com he was fired from the resort last week because he told guests that Aniston is "very sweet."

But Siegler made the comments while responding to questions from other resort guests about Aniston, who was staying at the resort while filming the movie We're the Millers. He was shuttling the guests, who had reportedly just seen the actress in the hotel spa.

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The guests asked Siegler if he had seen Aniston, and he said he had, and then told them she is "very sweet and much more petite than I thought."

All positive comments, but what Siegler also did by answering the guests' questions is confirm that the star was also a guest there.

The guests returned to the resort and began gossiping about Aniston staying at the hotel, and when a member of Aniston's entourage overheard it, a complaint was lodged that Siegler was spreading info about the actress.

Siegler was then fired from his $30,000/year job for violating "celebrity policy," TMZ reports.

Siegler's defense: He was just being friendly. "They brought (Aniston) up first … Was I supposed to deny it?"

Interesting point. On the one hand, it seems perfectly reasonable that the shuttle driver was just trying to be friendly and make the guests' stay more enjoyable. And that's a pretty harsh reason to lose your job.

On the other hand, Aniston is a guest, too, and has just as much the right to enjoy her stay, and enjoy her privacy. True, the guests had already identified her, but Siegler did not have to confirm her stay. People think they see someone famous all the time, and it turns out to be a lookalike. He could have said that. Or he could have just told the guests he hadn't seen her.

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We're as tired as anyone of celebrities feeling entitled to special treatment, but in this day of celebrity stalkers, and a plethora of very personal and specific information about celebs available on every corner of the Interwebs, it is understandable why famous types might be extra concerned about privacy.

Still, losing his job?

The resort's general manager tells TMZ, "I cannot confirm anything about our employees, but I will say that we have a very strict confidentiality policy and we do enforce those policies."

Siegler is considering filing a wrongful termination suit, meanwhile, and Aniston is, or was, reportedly considering holding her upcoming wedding to actor Justin Theroux in New Mexico.