DJ slammed for playing song about non-working legs as disabled prom queen hits the dance floor
A DJ is being slammed online after playing a song about non-working legs as a disabled prom queen takes to the dance floor in her wheelchair.
Sarah Mendenhall, 23 – who has a rare neurological condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis – was crowned prom queen at her school dance.
However, when it was time for Sarah – who was in a wheelchair – and the prom king to dance together, things got complicated when the MC put on a song that contained an insensitive line.
A video posted to TikTok by classmate Celeste Orozco showed the two standing in the center of the dance floor while someone placed wreaths on their heads; but when Ed Sheeran’s song Thinking Out Loud came on, many people at the event became uneasy.
DJ is slammed online after playing song about non-working legs as disabled prom queen hit the dance floor in her wheelchair
Sarah Mendenhall (pictured), 23 – who has a rare neurological condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – was crowned prom queen at her school dance
However, when it was time for Sarah – who was seen in hospital last year – and the prom king to dance, things went awry when the MC put on a song which contained an insensitive line.
“When your legs don’t work like they used to,” reads the first line of the track. “And I can’t sweep you off your feet.”
A video posted on TikTok by her classmate Celeste Orozco showed the two standing in the center of the dance floor. But when Ed Sheeran’s song Thinking Out Loud was released, many at the event became uneasy.
Many onlookers in the crowd showed their discomfort by letting out gasps and yelling at the DJ, whose identity is unknown, but it appeared Sarah hadn’t noticed the line.
“It would haunt me the rest of my life if I was the DJ,” Celeste captioned the clip, which has been viewed over 17 million times.
However, Sarah wants everyone to know that she wasn’t offended by the lyrics of the 2014 hit.
“Hi everyone so it’s me,” she wrote in the comments section of the viral clip. “I found it really funny and ironic.”
She added that she “didn’t know what was playing until well after” because she was so focused on “dancing”.
Celeste added, “We had a great prom night and had a blast the next day.”
Although Sarah took it in stride, many viewers were mortified by the DJ’s error and took to the comments section to criticize them.
“When your legs don’t work like they used to,” reads the first line of the track. “And I can’t sweep you off your feet.” Sarah is seen in 2020
Many onlookers in the crowd showed their discomfort by letting out gasps and yelling at the DJ, but Sarah (pictured last year) was unfazed by this
She said she found it “really funny and ironic”, adding that she “didn’t know what was playing until well after” because she was so focused on the “dance”. She is seen at the ball
On Instagram, Sarah (pictured in 2016) admitted that while there have been ‘so many lows’ since she was diagnosed five years ago, there have also been plenty of highs
Although Sarah took it in stride, many viewers were mortified by the DJ’s mistake. Others found the whole thing amusing, with one calling it “priceless”
Others found the whole thing entertaining, with one calling it “priceless” and another calling it “the funniest thing they’ve ever seen”.
“The DJ will tell this story forever,” one person wrote, while another joked, “The DJ got $20 to play this by the girl who came in second place.”
“It was personal,” someone else said. A fourth comment read, “It’s almost too perfect.”
“He called her OUT,” someone else commented.
“He said, ‘Wait I got the perfect song,'” another user wrote.
It emerged that Sarah, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in October 2016, had an amazing night despite the accident.
She posted a clip of herself spinning in the wheelchair on the dance floor to her own TikTok account, writing, “Just making an essential memory.” That’s all.’
According to the CDC, AFM “affects the nervous system, particularly the area of the spinal cord called gray matter, causing weakening of the body’s muscles and reflexes.”
It is often caused by a viral infection, with the organization writing: “More than 90% of patients with AFM had mild respiratory symptoms or fever, suggestive of a viral infection, before presenting with AFM.”
On Instagram, the 23-year-old, who is learning to walk through physical therapy, admitted that while there have been “so many lows” since she was diagnosed five years ago, there have been also had a lot of ups.
‘There have been many lows, like many, but there have also been so many highs that I hold on to and I wouldn’t change a thing because I’ve learned so much about myself and others that I don’t wouldn’t have without the AFM,’ she explained.
“I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me and my little (sometimes) noodle legs.”