Making things right. Four days after seemingly mocking Prince George on Good Morning America for taking ballet classes, coanchor Lara Spencer is apologizing again. During the Monday, August 26, live broadcast, the journalist, 50, said she “screwed up.”
“The comment I made about dance was stupid and insensitive and I am deeply sorry,” she said. “I spoke with several members of the dance community over the last few days. I have listened. I have learned about the bravery that it takes for a young boy to pursue a career in dance. And last night, I sat down with three influential dancers who lived it firsthand.”
The show then aired a clip of her speaking to Robbie Fairchild, Travis Wall and Fabrice Calmels.
“I have learned about the bravery it takes for a young boy to pursue a career in dance,” Spencer said, adding that she hopes to “turn a negative into a teachable moment.” Outside of GMA on Monday, a group of male ballet dancers put on a performance to take a stand against bullying.
On the Thursday, August 22, episode of GMA, Spencer explained the 6-year-old royal’s curriculum in a Pop News segment. “The future King of England will be putting down the Play-Doh to take on religious studies, computer programming, poetry and ballet, among other things,” she said while laughing. “Prince William says Prince George absolutely loves ballet. I have news for you, Prince William: We’ll see how long that lasts. I mean, he might! He might end up … Between the religious studies and the computer programming, I just want to go back to the Play-Doh!”
The comment sparked outrage on social media from viewers and celebs alike, including members of the dance community. So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Wall shared his own story of being bullied in a video on his Instagram. “I have a message for you. Wake up. It’s 2019. Get with the program,” he wrote.
Over the weekend, Wall revealed that Spencer reached out to him directly.
“She is completely horrified and just issued this massive apology,” the two-time Emmy winner, 31, revealed on his Instagram Story on Saturday, August 24. “I could just hear the horror in her voice. … She knows that there’s a bunch of us, Broadway and a lot of the ballet community here in New York City, we’re going down to Good Morning America on Monday morning and taking ballet class outside. She’s aware of it and she wants to talk to all of us and she wants to set this thing straight and right. The dance community is incredible and yeah, our voices were heard, which is fantastic, so hooray!”
Spencer first apologized in an Instagram post on Friday, August 23. “My sincere apologies for an insensitive comment I made in pop news yesterday,” she wrote on a photo of mountains. “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.”
