Vikings Under Fire Over Male Cheerleaders

"While many fans may be seeing male cheerleaders for the first time at Vikings games, male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading," the Minnesota Vikings said in a statement shared with Newsweek responding to the backlash.

The male cheerleaders have quickly prompted backlash online from MAGA and conservatives.

The account @tradwifemom wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, viewed 12.5 million times: "This is an official Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader this year. I'm so done with this state JFC."

The actor Kevin Sorbo wrote in a post on X viewed 29 million times: "I've been a Vikings fan all my life... sigh. I need a new team now."

The backlash has not been universal, with many taking to social media to share messages of support for the cheerleaders and to criticize the negative response.

The reporter Billy Binion wrote in a post on X viewed over 140,000 times: "I cannot for the life of me understand getting mad at stuff like this. This guy isn't competing in women's sports. He's a man who enjoys dancing & is skilled at it. Probably worked very hard to get there. Getting angry at that is such loser behavior."