HOLLYWOOD — This morning, I watched a grown man dance down Hollywood Boulevard in a string bikini, singing Beyoncй's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)." And the weird part is, I really enjoyed it.
But not nearly as much as "Twilight" star Peter Facinelli, who devised the devious dance as punishment for his friend Rob DeFranco — an entrepreneur who bet the man otherwise known as Dr. Carlisle Cullen that he couldn't get half a million followers on Twitter. With help from his 500,000 best friends, Facinelli won — and this morning, shrieking Twilighters came from far and wide to watch DeFranco shake his tail feather.
"Rob obviously lost the bet, and so here we are today," grinned Facinelli, looking around at the good-sized crowd gathered on the street corner. "We tried to take this bet and make something positive out of it, so Affliction, the clothing store, got involved and sponsored the event, and they donated $10,000 to the Christopher Reeve Foundation in honor of my Twitter followers. I wanted to show that the power of unity, even for something this silly, can actually achieve something good ... [Rob is doing] a bikini dance for everybody. I just hope we don't scar anyone's children."
At a little bit after 10 a.m., DeFranco dropped his robe to reveal a tiny bikini bottom and string top. Surrounded by female models from Affliction who held a speaker blasting Beyoncй, Rob unveiled some impressive moves — karate kicking, windmilling and even falling into the screaming crowd at one point. An overjoyed Facinelli, meanwhile, sat down on the sidewalk and looked up at curious office-workers staring out building windows at the half-naked man down below.
"I'm not gonna say that Beyoncй should have him as one of her backup dancers, but I've got to be honest: He looks good in a bikini," Peter laughed. "I think he might start a whole new trend — you might see the man-kini out there on the beaches this summer."
"I had fun, but it was a little nerve-wracking," explained DeFranco after he put his robe back on. "I had to make sure that all the bits and pieces stayed in where they needed to stay."
"Rob's been trapped in his hotel room for about a week, learning Beyoncй's moves," Facinelli said of his friend. "I think he could have spent a month more and probably still wouldn't have gotten it right — but he tried really hard. And he even threw in a windmill, which I think almost took out some little kid's eye."
Luckily for the young "Twilight" fan, Dr. Cullen was available for emergencies. "Thankfully, I play a doctor on television and in movies," joked the star, who also is a castmember on "Nurse Jackie." "I was there on the scene, and the little girl was fine."
And if the fans are wondering what it would take to get Peter himself into a bikini, Peter revealed that he'd be willing to do it — if the Twilighters really flex their numbers.
"10 million followers," laughed Facinelli, possibly regretting his statement as soon as he said it. "If I get 10 million followers on Twitter, I will dance in a bikini."
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