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HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — When the girls at a North Carolina dance studio were given the chance to dress up like their favorite princesses for a day, one of the tiny dancers opted for the ruler of the barbecue world.
That’s right, 5-year-old Ainsley Turner decided to trade the tiaras and tutus for a bun and some ketchup. Ainsley made her grand entrance dressed as a hot dog.
“She just said she wanted to wear it because this is my favorite costume,” her father, Brandon Turner, told WTVD News. “She wore the hot dog costume because she doesn’t care what people think.”
Ainsley’s dance teacher, Sarah Nativi, told BuzzFeed that Ainsley has nothing against princesses, she just wanted to stand out a little.
“She wore a princess costume underneath it and said she was a princess on the inside,” Nativi said.
And stand out she did. Nativi posted a photo of the hot dog princess on her Twitter page and it quickly spread like everyone’s favorite condiment. The photo was retweeted hundreds of times and shared on multiple media platforms.
Ainsley even inspired a trending hashtag: #hotdogprincess
The fact that one of the girls I assist for came to princess day as a hotdog made my week pic.twitter.com/nqoojHXf7W
— Sarah Nativi (@sarahnicole103) May 10, 2016
“I wanted to share the pictures first of all because it was so innocent and cute, and also because I was so impressed with how confident a little girl could be with herself to just wear whatever she liked best,” Nativi said.
Ainsley’s parents told BuzzFeed they were proud of their girl for daring to be different. Her dad said he was pleasantly surprised to realize how many strangers felt the same way.
“No parent is ready to learn that their daughter is trending,” Turner tweeted. “Best part is it was all her idea! She just loves hot dogs!”
The Hot Dog Princess was invited to kick off the Holly Springs School of Dance recital — wearing the now-famous hot dog suit. Many adoring fans asked for photos with the queen of kosher, and she happily obliged.
One admirer summed it up perfectly when she tweeted a photo with Ainsley: “In a world full of princesses, dare to be a hot dog.”
