The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is arguably one of the biggest celebrations in the US, boasting massive balloons and parade floats that each symbolize an aspect of American culture. To celebrate, dancers, musicians, and other talent all gather in New York City, New York, to celebrate the holiday as part of a live television event. However, a viral video has surfaced that shows the gross side of having to perform live, and people in the comments are absolutely livid about the situation.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has just celebrated its 99th anniversary, having come from parading real zoo animals along the streets of New York to the large-scale, marionette-like balloons we see today. The parade also celebrates other events and cultures, with various dance numbers and entertaining presentations that fill up the entirety of its three hours.
Shortly after the NYPD strutted with their horses in front of Macy’s Herald Square, a set of performers was scheduled to take the stage. Unfortunately, this must have meant that the timing simply didn’t allow for there to be any cleanup of the poop the horses left behind, resulting in the dancers having to step in it. Repeatedly.
New York Thanksgiving Day Parade Dancers Redefine ‘The Show Must Go On’
Commentators immediately filled the replies with their opinions, largely of which condemn the event runners for allowing this to happen. One comment in particular comes from an ex-dancer, who says, “As an ex dancer in the parade, after walking HOURS in the cold WITH NO LAYERS you are so excited to finally reach the Macys storefront. My heart goes out to these girls for handling such an awful situation with grace. I am so disappointed no one advocated for them to have a clean place to dance!!!!! MACYS, NYC, ETC. DO BETTER this is ridiculous!!!!!!!“
Other comments focused more on the biohazard aspect of having to repeatedly kick around horse feces on the streets of New York, with one person saying, “Is this not a gigantic health hazard? How could Macy’s allow this?“
Unfortunately, the performers aren’t in a position to be able to really say anything, since the parade is being televised live and runs on a tight schedule. However, their professionalism is definitely notable, especially seeing that they continuously smiled the whole way through. A different commentator noted this and said, “Oh my gosh those poor girls!! They handled it more than professionally, they should not have been put in this spot.”
The show went on, and the performers ended up having to move out of the way to make room for the next routine, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. Hopefully, a cleanup crew ended up coming and taking care of things.
