Andrew WK, Moby, Pharrell Celebrate ‘Dancing Man’ in Los Angeles

Lyndsey Parker
·Editor in Chief, Yahoo Music
Updated

“One of the worst things that ever happened to Sean turned out to be one of the best things,” Andrew WK told an audience of glowstick-waving revelers at Hollywood’s Avalon nightclub Saturday night. The white-denim-clad rocker was referring to Sean O'Brien, a heavy-set Englishman who became an overnight media sensation and unlikely hero after he was cyberbullied on 4chan for dancing in public.

Kind-hearted supporters, led by musician Hope Leigh and writer Cassandra Fairbanks, sought out O'Brien, flew him out to Los Angeles for a giant dance party — and everyone from Andrew WK and Moby to Tatyana Ali and Monica Lewinsky, as well as L.A. clubgoers of all shapes and sizes, came out to celebrate.

“When that [4chan photo] first came out and they were teasing you, I bet you thought, 'Man, this is not cool.’ But there was a miracle in it,” Pharrell Williams said in a pre-taped presentation before DJ Tropicool, and later Moby, began spinning. “Because some people saw it, and those people decided that they needed to stand up for not only you, but for anyone in your position that just wants to trust themselves and is criticized or ridiculed for it. And they did the exact opposite: They wanted to encourage you to dance more — dance free.” A flashmob dance to Pharrell’s “Happy” was one the night’s dancefloor highlights.

 

Other presenters at the Avalon included Lewinsky, who has become an outspoken anti-bullying advocate, and the creators of the new all-positive social media app Güdly (“the world’s first troll-free zone”), who presented a $30,000 check going to the Trevor Project, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, Cybersmile, and Kidscape.

The 47-year-old O'Brien, whose quote “Big-hearted people far outweigh the small-minded every day of the week” ran on a video screen behind him, was clearly moved by the party — although he only broke into tears during the presentation when he found he’d been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Dodgers game this Sunday. “Someone decided to pick on me, and it worked in his eyes, but it’s backfired in the world’s eyes,” O'Brien said triumphantly.

For more information on Sean's story, go to Dance Free Movement.

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