Let's Let Chrissy Teigen Off the Hook for That Pointe Video

Yesterday, Chrissy Teigen posted an Instagram video of her trying out a pair of pointe shoes, with a hand from husband John Legend.

Yes, Teigen is obviously not a trained dancer. Yes, she looks pretty awful in the video. Yes, she could’ve hurt herself. Dancers and dance fans have been quick to point out all of these facts in many a comments section.

But this video is not the next Kendall Jenner-esque ballet fiasco. And here’s why.

First, here’s Teigen’s vid, in case you haven’t seen it (warning—she lets out a very Teigen-ish swear at the end):

And for reference, here’s Jenner’s video for Vogue Spain, part of a ballet-themed campaign that irritated the heck out of the dance community when it debuted last fall:

We stand by our critique of the Vogue Spain travesty. Why? Because there was zero context—no acknowledgement of how difficult it is to master ballet technique, no mention of the years and years of training dancers put in to become the be-tutued heroines little girls fall in love with. In the video, Jenner talks about missing being a kid and doing “stupid stuff.” Ballet isn’t stupid stuff.

But Teigen? She knows better. In the caption to her video, she talks about her longtime love of ballet, and her great respect for the ballerinas she’s looked up to since she was young. She calls out her own lack of expertise. She recognizes just how insanely hard it is to even attempt pointe, let alone look good up there. “My feet. Are. So weak. God I love real ballerinas,” she Tweeted yesterday.

She’s also been graceful enough to have a sense of humor about the backlash, which, plus 1 million bonus points:

The verdict? It’s not our favorite ballet tribute. But let’s cut Teigen some slack.