Sean O’Brien: Dancing Man takes steps forward to promote body positivity after his brush with online abuse

O'Brien became a celebrity when an internet troll attempted to 'fat shame him' by posting photos of him dancing online

Sean O'Brien, "The Dancing Man," throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in May (AP)

Sean O’Brien became an overnight celebrity in March this year when an internet troll attempted to “fat-shame” him by taunting him after a night out on the tiles.

The anonymous internet user uploaded two photos of Mr O’Brien, 47, to the message board 4chan and wrote: “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”

The cruel jibe caught the attention of a group of women in California, who made it their mission to identify the mystery man and throw him a party. They tracked down Mr O’Brien through a social media campaign, #FindDancingMan, and in May they made good on their promise, flying him out to the US and hosting a star-studded Hollywood bash in his honour.

Guests included Monica Lewinsky and musicians Andrew WK and Moby.

“They were all fantastic,” said Mr O’Brien, who is from Liverpool and lives in Hertfordshire. “Saying I met these people is surreal. Monica was so sweet. We’ve been in touch since – she’s a rock.”

Mr O’Brien is flying out to LA to meet up with his new friends next month and, although he feels he has not done anything to warrant the attention he has received, he has been using his star power to help combat bullying and promote body positivity. He has raised thousands of pounds for anti-bullying charities and is determined to raise more.

i can exclusively reveal that Mr O’Brien plans to complete three charity 10km runs in 2016, in the three cities he said are “close to [his] heart”: Liverpool, London and Los Angeles. “I am apprehensive about it as it is taking me completely out of my comfort zone,” But, he added: “I felt it would be good to give something back and this seemed a really good way of doing so.”