Actually, there were two!
Mikelle StreetAnd just like that, we’ve got another one.
Over the last few years televised dancing competitions, namely different versions of Dancing With the Stars, have been slowly introducing same-sex couples. Nyle DiMarco represented here in America, while Courtney Act took the show on the road for Australia. Then, in Denmark Jakob Fauerby and Silas Holst did what needed to be done. The best part is that these pairings have historically done well: Fauerby and Holst won their season, Act was robbed but consistently the highest scorer of her season, and DiMarco (who was mostly paired with a woman but did one episode with another man) won his season. Well, this weekend it was Ireland’s turn and the country decided to double up!
This week Ireland aired the “Switch-Up Week” challenge where the celebrity contestants got to choose their own professional partners. Among the choices: Brian Dowling, a TV presenter, chose Kai Widdrington, and Lottie Ryan, a radio presenter, chose Emily Barker. Way to come out strong!
“This is celebrating the fact that two guys can dance together on national television,” Dowling said before the performance. "I will be emotional on the night. I’m an out gay man and I’m married, and this is really important to me.” Wow, what a moment.
The two performed a quickstep. “I think this is an incredibly brave thing to do – not to go out there and dance with a man that’s normal – it’s brave because you took on the pressure to be the first one to do the that,” Brian Redmond, a judge, said.
The women similarly were praised, getting second place in scoring for the night. Ryan and Barker did the Charleston for the episode.
“There was lots of great dancing here. Overall, I thought it was a very high-powered routine,” Lorraine Barry, who is a judge on the show, said.
Ok, so who’s next?
RELATED | Watch: Gay Dancers Perform Beautiful Duet to Fight Homophobia
00