#DancingManFound gets last laugh, and dance
“It’s just a journey I never thought I’d ever be on.”
Sean O’Brien is getting the last dance, and the last laugh. You may remember his story from the photos that went viral across the globe in March. He spoke to Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga about how he was body-shamed by the posting of the photos, and how he now wants to use his uncalled-for fame to help others.
The pictures consist of two shots: in the first, a man is happily enjoying himself and his dance moves. The second shows a man with his head down, anything but the picture of happiness. The photos were posted with a caption that read, “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”
O’Brien says he doesn’t like the fact that his photos were posted. “I was probably upset that there was a photograph … to try and do it anonymously is just a cheap thrill, isn’t it?” he said.
But he says it’s not hard to look at the photos now. “No, no, I have no shame in myself; I’m quite self-confident,” said Sean. “I just feel sorry for the people who would make fun of other people because they have their own insecurities.”
After the photos and caption were posted, a California woman embarked on a mission to identify and find the man whose body-shaming had touched a nerve with millions. Cassandra Fairbanks launched the hash tag #FindDancingMan in hopes of finding the man in the photos and giving him his very own VIP dance party.
The search didn’t take long — Cassandra started it on a Thursday night only to see Sean reveal himself by Friday morning. Sean said becoming a viral sensation was definitely interesting. “It was a shock, it really was a shock, but it’s really led to good things,” he said.
Sean now wants others to see his story as a way to teach people just how powerful and destructive body-shaming can be. “There’s far too many good people out there; they outweigh the bad, so always look on the positive side,” he said.
Sean was joined in Yahoo News’ New York studio by Leila Centner, co-creator of the social media app Güdly, which is designed to draw attention to cyberbullying. She says, “We’re creating an environment where you can feel free to express your emotions. We’re going back to being civil.”
Sean’s story has drawn the support of a legion of followers, among them Pharrell, who tweeted to Sean: “Never be ashamed of yourself.”
Now, Sean has traveled from the United Kingdom to the United States for the promised dance party in Los Angeles. As Sean says, the story has changed his life forever. “We’ll take this journey for as long as it goes and for as far as we can take it,” he added.
