Lara Spencer is pirouetting away from some controversial comments she made about young Prince George and one of his favorite hobbies.
On Good Morning America the co-anchor criticized Prince William and Kate Middleton’s son’s addition of ballet to his upcoming school year curriculum.
“Oh, he looks so happy about the ballet class,” Spencer, 50, said laughing, as a picture of Prince George,6, smiling appeared on the screen.
“Prince William says Prince George absolutely loves ballet,” she continued. “I have news for you, Prince William: We’ll see how long that lasts.”
The outcry was immediate, with many lashing out at Spencer, the mother of a son and daughter, for ridiculing the tastes of a little boy, with some comments going as far as to compare her joking tone to bullying and homophobia.
Dancing with the Stars alum Derek Hough quickly criticized Spencer. “For a brief moment it brought up old unpleasant memories of being mocked and laughed at for being a boy who danced,” he wrote on Instagram. “Fortunately that feeling dissipated quickly in knowing that the climate of dance, especially for young men in this generation is thriving more than ever, celebrated and appreciated. We are in a new era and time, especially for dance and it’s perception. The tone and mockery towards dance is just dated, old and not relevant anymore. Those who mock don’t understand.”
Rosie O’Donnell lashed out as well at Spencer’s “bullying.”
“C’mon, Lara Spencer,” the former View host wrote on Twitter. “Please! I mean, Baryshnikov? Every Tony Award winner? It’s ridiculous. It’s like bullying on national TV. Boys who take ballet are cool and they’ll entertain you. C’mon!”
“Ew, @LaraSpencer. That was disgusting,” Josh Lamon, who stars in the Tony-nominated musical “The Prom,” wrote on Twitter. “Dancing is an art and a sport. How dare you. You are officially cancelled.”
“Shame on @GMA, @ABCNetwork and @LaraSpencer for this. I don’t think Lara meant it maliciously, but casual homophobia and bullying are just as inexcusable,” comedian Scott Nevins added. “Shaming a boy for dancing is tired, and laughing at him for having taste shows that you have none.”
Hours after the outrage peaked, Spencer posted an apology on Instagram:
“My sincere apologies for an insensitive comment I made in pop news yesterday,” she wrote. “From ballet to anything one wants to explore in life, I say GO FOR IT. I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions. Go climb your mountain-and love every minute of it.”
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