The Prancing Elites, an all-male gay cheerleading squad from Mobile, Alabama, danced in a Christmas parade a few miles west in the small town of Semmes last weekend.
Townsfolk, however, were appalled, apparently not knowing that The Prancing Elites were planned for the parade.
Here's a few GIFs of a typical Prancing Elite dance routine.
Their particular kind of dancing is called J-setting, a cheerleading/hip hop hybrid started at Jackson State University.
FOX 10 reports that as the dancers made their way down the street parade-watchers jeered at the dancers and made comments.
View this video on YouTube
Semmes resident Claudia Davis told FOX 10 that she's furious no one knew the dancers were planned for the parade.
According to AL.com, Karen McDuffie, who was in charge of accepting applications for the event, didn't think they would dress as vulgarly as they did.
McDuffie, who is on the board of directors of the Friends of Semmes, the group that created the parade, said the Prancing Elites' moves were "vulgar" and "not appropriate for a children's Christmas parade," before apologizing on behalf of the organization.She said she received calls from dismayed parents, warning her that they would not attend next year if the group performed again.
The Prancing Elites took to Facebook to clear up exactly how they ended up in the Semmes parade, posting emails they exchanged with the town of Semmes.
While the town of Semmes might not have been thrilled about The Prancing Elites, they've received a massive amount of support online since the incident.
@PrancingE You make my heart proud. Thank you for doing what you love.
Angela Warner
@pinkrocktopus
@PrancingE You make my heart proud. Thank you for doing what you love.
@PrancingE Dance like nobody's watching! Photos of your performance in #Alabama made my day!
Nadeem Muaddi
@nmuaddi
@PrancingE Dance like nobody's watching! Photos of your performance in #Alabama made my day!
@PrancingE I live in semmes and don't y'all listen to what people said today. All of you are really talented. Y'all are going places.
Baby Doll
@Lalunafairy
@PrancingE I live in semmes and don't y'all listen to what people said today. All of you are really talented. Y'all are going places.í ½í¸„í ½í¸„í ½í¸„í ½í¸„í ½í¸„í ½í¸„
@PrancingE Forget what they say! Y'all keep it up! Y'all dance better then most of there children, that's why dey mad! *twerking*
Teezy Babieee
@TeezyBabieee
@PrancingE Forget what they say! Y'all keep it up! Y'all dance better then most of there children, that's why dey mad! *twerking*
@prancinge you fellas are awesome! Merry Xmas and don't let anyone bring you down!
Double Page Spread
@DoublePgSpread
@prancinge you fellas are awesome! Merry Xmas and don't let anyone bring you down!
The Prancing Elite have been fairly optimistic about the entire mix-up, and posted this message to their fans over the weekend.
Divided we stand, Together we fall.... only GOD can judge us... This is our life and we have to answer to one man... We've been all over the country doing what we love... We didnt ask Shaquille O'neal to tweet our video... we didn't ask America's Got Talent to send for us... nor did we ask Tamar Braxton, Tamera Mowry, Adrienne Bailon, to send for us to come to Los Angeles to perform on their show... but they did because they saw the talent...and not our GENDER... We don't need hype from a small town Christmas Parade.. ijs ... We have wayyyyy more important things under our belt and that we are working on for 2014, than to entertain the constant negativity we keep receiving... at the end of the day, if you don't want to watch our show, CHANGE THE CHANNEL.... this our life again... negative publicity is still PUBLICITY... We are still human and have feelings... if people stop worrying about Prancing Elites then their life my suck a little less.... Happy Sunday to all....