'The Show Must Go On — Even Dancing on Horse Poop': Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Dancers Power Through Mess, Sparking Outcry Over Girls' Treatment

The show must go on, even if it means performing on a floor littered with horse poop. During the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the dancers were forced to continue their routine across a floor with droppings, courtesy of the New York Police Department's horses, which had joined the parade.

While many applauded the dancers' unwavering dedication, the sight quickly sparked widespread outcry over the conditions they were forced to endure.

Dancers Perform on the Floor With Horse Droppings

A video of Macy's Thanksgiving Day dancers performing on horse droppings left by NYPD horses during the parade, posted by Martin 🇱🇨 (@martymcflizzy1) on TikTok, has gone viral.

Martin captioned the clip: 'The NYPD horses pooped on the road before their performance at the Macy's Day Parade. 😂 But they still danced it out. Props to them. 🫡'

Text on the video itself reads: 'Real definition of the show must go on!'

The video, now with 9.9 million views on TikTok, was also reposted on X by Suzie Rizzio (@Suzierizzo1), gaining an additional 6.4 million views.

Her caption read: 'These poor dancers were performing at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and they had to dance in piles of horse crap because the horses that were in the parade earlier had to relieve themselves! These girls were troopers and did an amazing job and acted like it wasn't even there.'

In the footage, the dancers carry on with their routine unfazed by what they're stepping on. Laughter can be heard in the background, along with someone saying, 'They're stomping all in it.'

At the end of the routine, several dancers are seen kneeling and touching the ground.

As the video blew up, Martin later posted a story-time clip explaining exactly what happened. He showed the spot where the horses relieved themselves and pointed the camera towards the horses responsible.

'Now these jabronis here are the culprit of the mess,' he joked. 'And they're some big horses. So you can see by my brother's face that we knew the mess wasn't going to be picked up in time for the performance to start,' Martine said.

The content creator clarified that sanitation staff were present, but the clean-up was inadequate.

'There were some sanitation people behind the horses, but they missed the part where the horses actually pooped. So it ultimately just ended up being dragged down the road by previous performances.'

He praised the dancers, 'Massive props to them for overcoming the obstacle and absolutely crushing this performance that was on national TV.'

But he also stressed how unpleasant the situation was. 'You could tell how disgusted they were, and they definitely should have been enjoying the experience instead of having to dance around some poop.'

Public's Reaction on the Incident

Comments on both Martin's TikTok and Suzie's repost were flooded with a mix of concern, anger, criticism, and disgust.

A health hazard was raised by a netizen, saying, 'Is this not a gigantic health hazard? How could Macy's allow this?'

Another echoed the same worry, 'I'm sorry, but is this not some sort of safety violation? If one of them has a cut on their foot (extremely likely with dancers) and the faeces gets in...'

'Poor girls don't deserve that,' one chimed in.

'I hope those parents were furious and complained because this is not okay. Poor kids need new shoes and gloves,' another commenter said.

Meanwhile, one confused commenter asked, 'I don't understand why the horses wouldn't have bags on them during a parade?'

Another pointed out what should have been done during the parade, 'When we have horses in parades here, someone walks alongside them with a scooper and a wheelbarrow. How hard is it to have a pooper scooper with the horses?'

One viewer wrote: 'I'm sorry, but I'm breaking formation and NOT dancing in sh*t. The person in charge of that dance team should've exercised some judgment. A parade is NOT that serious.'

And another hoped Macy's compensated the dancers, 'That's disgusting! I hope Macy's bought every one of those girls new dance shoes and tights. I would've thrown mine straight in the bin after those conditions! Great job to the dancers!'

As the videos continue to gain traction, many remain upset about what the dancers had to endure on a day meant to be filled with joy and celebration.

Macy's has yet to release any statement addressing the incident or the public's concerns.

For now, the netizens can only hope the dancers are safe, supported, and recovering from what was undoubtedly a distressing — and entirely avoidable — experience.