Lara Spencer Takes Action After Ballet Controversy

'Good Morning America' host apologizes, sits down with 3 influential male dancers
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2019 10:43 AM CDT

Lara Spencer apologized Monday on Good Morning America for her teasing comments about Britain's Prince George, 6, taking ballet in school. But she did more than that—she sat down with three influential male dancers to try to turn her comments, which led to a massive outcry, into a teachable moment. "I screwed up. I did," she said at the start of the segment. She said the dancers, Robbie Fairchild, Fabrice Calmels, and Travis Wall, helped her to understand "the bravery it takes for a young boy to pursue a career in dance." Wall had revealed in an Instagram story over the weekend that Spencer reached out to him after he criticized her original comments, E! Online reports: "So Lara Spencer just called me on my cell phone, she got my number from Debbie Allen, and she is completely horrified and just truly just issued this massive apology."

On Monday's segment, Fairchild talked about being laughed at in middle school for his dance lessons. Wall, of So You Think You Can Dance, said he's "so proud" the show has inspired more boys to get into dance. And Calmels said "more empathy would be lovely" from society at large, as he sees boys dropping dance class "because of the social stigma around the form. Children should be entitled to experience things without being bullied." Fairchild said he hopes any young boy who is interested in dance can find a male role model, as he did in Gene Kelly. Interestingly, Kelly's widow released an open letter over the weekend responding to Spencer's original comments, Deadline reports. "Gene would be devastated to know that 61 years after his ground-breaking work, the issue of boys and men dancing is still the subject of ridicule," she wrote. (See Spencer's original comments here.)

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