(YouTube)
Jimmy Kimmel and sidekick Guillermo got a special ballet lesson on Monday’s show from Misty Copeland, the first African-American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. The taped segment began with Kimmel and Guillermo getting out of a taxi in New York City in pink tutus, and it (hilariously) went downhill from there. Watch the video below.
Before studying moves with Copeland, who Kimmel said “reminds me a great deal of myself,” he told his studio audience in Brooklyn, where the show is taping this week, “It took 47 years and a hell of a lot of soul searching, but today I finally discovered my passion is ballet.” No sooner did the two tutu-clad men enter the dance rehearsal space than Copeland remarked, “My God, your legs are real hairy.”
Copeland then tried to teach Kimmel and Guillermo a few simple steps, but not surprisingly they were no good. At one point, Kimmel asked if they would be “ballerinos,” but Copeland said there was no such thing, just male “dancers,” which the talk show host felt was “very sexist.” After more fumbling by Kimmel and Guillermo, the noted ballerina told the camera she was “extremely nervous” about their performance, adding, “My hope is that they don’t fall and hurt themselves.”
At one point, Kimmel asked if they were any “good,” to which Copeland curtly responded, “No.” The TV host then confided to the camera that he felt Copeland was jealous and bothered by the fact that “she’s worked at this her whole life,” while “I just stroll in and master it.”
In addition to problems with their ballet moves, Kimmel also had a wardrobe malfunction, telling Copeland, “One of my testicles is coming out of the tutu.” He noted, “When you dance like I do, every ballet is The Nutcracker.” Guillermo similarly said, “My testicles are too big (for the tutu).” Copland remarked at the end of the lesson, “Ballet was born in Italy more than 600 years ago, and today it died.”
Once the taped segment ended, Copeland and troupe members from the American Ballet Theater gave a performance on stage at Kimmel’s show, along with the host and Guillermo dressed again in pink tutus. Check out the video below of Jimmy Kimmel and Guillermo getting a ballet lesson and performing, and tell Gossip Cop what you think.
