Lara Spencer, a co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America," apologized for the second time — this time on air — for laughing and mocking Britain's Prince George for taking ballet lessons as part of the 6-year-old's upcoming school year curriculum.
On Monday, Spencer told her co-hosts, "I screwed up, I did."
"The comment I made about dance was insensitive, it was stupid, and I am deeply sorry," Spencer continued.
Spencer said she had spoken with members of the dance community since she made the comments about George.
"I have learned about the bravery that it takes for a young boy to pursue a career in dance. And last night, I sat down with three influential dancers who have lived it firsthand," she said.
She went on to show a segment in which she interviewed professional male dancers Robbie Fairchild, Travis Wall and Fabrice Calmels. Spencer said she hoped to "turn a negative into a positive."
"For me the lesson is that words hurt, and it was not my intention, but it was insensitive and I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to apologize personally to you, and for you guys coming in here to talk to me and to educate me and, again, I'm really sorry," Spencer told the dancers.
The dancers all said they accepted Spencer's apology.
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Spencer first made the remarks during a Thursday "Hot News" segment on the morning show. As she listed off what the young British royal would be studying in the fall, her emphasis on the word "ballet" caused laughter throughout the studio audience.
"In addition to the usual first or second grade things, like math, science and history, the future King of England will be putting down the Play-Doh to take on religious studies, computer programming, poetry and ballet, among other things," she said.
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Showing a picture of Prince George smiling in a soccer jersey, she added, "You couldn’t contain ... oh, he looks so happy about the ballet class.”
The audience and her co-hosts responded with more laughter.
"Prince William says Prince George absolutely loves ballet," Spencer said. "I have news for you, Prince William: We'll see how long that lasts."
After swift social media backlash to the comments, Spencer made her first apology on Instagram, before making the on-air apology Monday.
"My sincere apologies for an insensitive comment I made in pop news yesterday," she wrote. "From ballet to anything one wants to explore in life, I say GO FOR IT. I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions. Go climb your mountain and love every minute of it."
