Disney On Ice 'headbanger' stunt goes wrong during 'Little Mermaid'

A Disney On Ice performance of The Little Mermaid went badly wrong when the skater playing Prince Eric lost his grip during a 'headbanger' spin and both performers crashed onto the ice in front of a horrified audience.

The footage, posted to TikTok by @planoplaysgamestiktok, has been viewed 8.7 million times.

It shows the pair gliding around the rink as 'Part of Your World' plays in the background, looking every bit the polished Disney production, right up until the moment it all falls apart.

What the footage shows

The skater playing Ariel extended one of her legs mid-routine.

Her partner, playing Prince Eric, grabbed it and hoisted her into the air before beginning the headbanger, a move where one skater is held by the ankle and spun by their partner with their head passing inches from the surface of the ice on each rotation.

The stunt is banned in competitive skating. Credit: TikTok/@PlanoPlaysGames

It is exactly as dangerous as it sounds, which is why it has been banned from competitive figure skating entirely.

Partway through the spin, the male skater appeared to lose his grip on her leg while she was still mid-air.

Both performers came down hard on the ice.

The woman playing Ariel immediately clutched her head.

They stayed on the ice for a few seconds, visibly in pain, before pulling themselves to their feet.

Prince Eric skated over to check on his partner.

They crossed the rink together, took a bow in front of the stunned crowd, and exited. The show continued.

The reaction online

'That actually looked BAD,' one person wrote underneath the video.

'Oh my gosh, she could've died,' said another.

'He almost bashed her head on the ice omg,' wrote a third.

Someone replied: 'He did.'

The pair were clearly in pain. Credit: TikTok/@PlanoPlaysGames

Why the headbanger is so dangerous

The move, also known as a bounce spin or 'The Iron Lotus' after the fictional move in Will Ferrell's 2007 comedy Blades of Glory, involves one skater being held by the ankle and swung around by their partner so that their head passes within inches of the ice surface on every rotation.

The skater being swung has no control over their own body. If the partner's grip slips, there is nothing between the back of their skull and the ice.

It is illegal in competitive skating because of the risk involved.

It is not illegal in shows and exhibitions, which is why it still appears in productions like Disney On Ice, Dancing On Ice, and touring ice spectaculars.

Former Dancing On Ice contestant Michelle Heaton explained in 2023 that the move is heavily dependent on the height and weight of the person being swung.

She said she would not have been allowed to attempt it if she had been 'two inches higher'.

"So when people don't do it, it's not that they don't want to, it's a height thing and it's safety," she told Virgin Radio.

What Disney has said

Disney hasn't said anything publicly, and it is unclear exactly when or where the footage was filmed, though the TikTok was posted earlier this week.

The two performers finished their routine, bowed, and left the ice under their own power.

Whether either was assessed by a medic backstage has not been confirmed - let's just hope they were OK.

The video is doing the rounds because it looks terrifying and because most people watching a Disney On Ice show with their children do not expect to see someone's head come within an inch of the ice at full speed and then watch both performers hit the ground.

It is the kind of thing that stays with the kids in the front row a lot longer than the singing crab does.