TV journalist Lara Spencer made headlines this week after her remarks about Prince George taking ballet classes left some with a bad taste in their mouths.
“Prince William says George absolutely loves ballet. I have news for you Prince William: We’ll see how long that lasts,” the Good Morning America host quipped at the time.
But it appears the young prince has a legion of supporters with dancers from all over the world slamming the journalist for her comments.
Spencer was accused of “bullying” the eldest Cambridge child while hashtags “boys dance too” and “ballet is for everyone,” began popping up on social media. And we agree!
Prince George isn’t the only famous male face who’s tried his hand at plies and pirouettes, and some may surprise you. Take a look at some notable ones here.
WATCH: Rare footage of the Queen and Prince Philip at the ballet. Post continues after video…
Christian Bale
Batman knows his ballet! Welsh singer and actress Annette McLaughlin revealed that the only other boy in her ballet class when she was seven years-old was none other than Oscar winner Christian Bale.
“Christian was the only boy in the class and all the girls were all in love with him. He was really cool. He played the drums really well and being the only boy in the class he had a lot of attention,” Annette said.
She added that one term he never came back after having auditioned for Stephen Speilberg’s Empire of the Sun. And while she and her classmates were heartbroken, this was just the beginning for Christian.
“I often wonder whether Christian ever kept up his ballet exercises on the barre. But I doubt it. He was never forward in telling people about his dance background.”
Christian Bale? More like Christian Ballet!
(Image: Getty Images)Harley Bennell
In 2018, the AFL star had played just two of a possible 55 games since his move from from Gold Coast at the end of 2015 because of persistent calf problems.
According to the ABC, the Fremantle Dockers decided to train Bennell in ballet so that he could get back into playing regularly with coach Ross Lyon saying “He’s bought in [to it].”
Other AFL players including Collingwood’s Ben Reid and North Melbourne’s Sam Wright and Ben Jacobs having dabbled in dance to overcome injuries.
The AFL player gave ballet a go after suffering from consistent calf problems.
(Image: Getty Images)Freddie Mercury
Despite never being classically trained, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury achieved a personal dream when he performed with the Royal Ballet as a guest artist at a charity gala.
The musician was invited to join by Derek Dean and Wayne Eagling, the latter of whom was not only a Royal Ballet principal but also one of Freddie’s closest friends.
Freddie’s first dance was to the iconic Queen hit Bohemian Rhapsody and the second was to Crazy Little Thing Called Love with Freddie singing and the live orchestra playing. Not only that, but he received a standing ovation for both performances!
Snaps of Freddie in rehearsal back in 1979 have since emerged.
(Image: Getty Images)
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
(Image: Getty Images)Rio Ferdinand
He’s one of the most famous footballers on the planet, but life could’ve taken a different turn for Rio Ferdinand had he kept up with his ballet classes.
The star athlete received a scholarship to the Central School of Ballet in London and would attend at least twice a week after school.
“My mum and dad knew the truth, obviously, but I told everyone else I was going to a few dance lessons,” he told The Express in 2009. “I didn’t tell my mates for years. Then I had an invitation to perform at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and thought: ‘I’d better tell the truth.’ Everyone fell about but they knew I was enough of a lad by then not to take the mick.”
Seeing as Rio knows George’s dad, perhaps he can give him some ballet pointers?
(Image: Getty Images)Jean-Claude Van Damme
As the star of many action films in the eighties and nineties, Jean-Claude Van Damme wasn’t afraid of getting physical. But the Muscles from Brussels has also said that he was always attracted to ballet “because of the dexterity, the stretching, the grace, and the fact that you are able to control without showing any pain in your face.”
“People think ballet is, like, usual, but it’s not. It’s very hard to do. It’s very hard to be able to put your shoulders down and keep your hips straight and your legs spread like this, and hold somebody in one hand on one feet. So I mixed the grace and the movement with the power of karate. It’s been a big help in my movies,” he admitted.
“I was about 16, 17 when I started. Then they wanted me to go with a professional company in Paris, because they needed so much good male dancers. They’re not easy to find. Americans, of course, think ballet is for sissies. But they are very wrong. You see those legs of all those guys like Nureyev and Baryshnikov. They command a lot of power.”
With moves like these, of course he trained in ballet!
(Image: Getty Images)
