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The reason why people go to the theater is because of the element of spontaneity and the visceral experience of seeing art unfolding in front of audiences in real-time.
With the thrill of live performance is the anticipation that not everything goes as planned—whether it's a missed cue, technical glitch or a line flub.
Sort of like why people attend NASCAR races. Deep down, on some level, we all want to see the proverbial "crash and burn."
John Stamos delivered in spades during ABC's The Little Mermaid Live.
As Chef Louis, the Fuller House actor referred to Ariel's love interest Prince Eric as "Prince Albert" after singing "Les Poissons."
He joked:
"I knew I should have played Prince Albert."
Did @JohnStamos say “Prince Albert” in the end and then say Prince Erik? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #TheLittleMermaidLive https://t.co/dZp0hHK9fR— Jan Aguilos (@Jan Aguilos)1573006623.0
When John Stamos said he should have played Prince Albert? #TheLittleMermaidLive https://t.co/XPDr4zJ7eb— Casey Young (@Casey Young)1573006655.0
Immediately recognizing his ad-lib fail, Stamos corrected himself by referring to Graham Phillips' character with the proper name, "Eric."
john stamos saying “I knew I should’ve played prince albert or eric” on live tv is everything I didn’t know I needed #TheLittleMermaidLive— daphne. ♔ (@daphne. ♔)1573006504.0
But the damage was already done, and audiences ate it up.
Ah, I finally got to see what all the John Stamos uproar was about. Well, the "Prince Albert (um, "Eric?")" part no… https://t.co/As1FCq8xMC— Jeanette Hernandez (@Jeanette Hernandez)1573017920.0
John stamos ad libbing a joke to only miss the punch line because he doesn’t know prince Eric’s name...… https://t.co/5rLUTnJsYu— Frank Sansone (@Frank Sansone)1573006611.0
Omg I wasn’t able to watch the Kiss The Girl part because I was still laughing at John Stamos saying Prince Albert… https://t.co/BeCVyt2ZuE— Lauren (@Lauren)1573018218.0
But as innocuous as it was, the internet saw something more than a royal snafu.
While Prince Albert is historically known as Queen Victoria's consort and a popular tobacco, the phrase also has a NSFW meaning.
According to the Urban Dictionary, a "Prince Albert" refers to a genital piercing in which a metal ring enters through the frenulum (the part of the penis where the glans connects to the foreskin) and exits through the urethra (the duct through which urine and semen flow).
Twitter gave Stamos a royal roasting for his "Prince Albert" snafu.
#TheLittleMermaidLivewhen you realize @JohnStamos mentioned he should have been "Prince Albert...oops I mean Princ… https://t.co/98n6nZzYjr— Tasia Edwards (@Tasia Edwards)1573011921.0
@Frank_A_Sansone You missed his joke. Only Adults would understand his joke. Google Prince Albert..— Martin Rodriguez (@Martin Rodriguez)1573015432.0
This user referred to the controversial VHS tape cover of the Disney film where the illustration of King Triton's castle featured what many saw as a phallic tower.
Was @JohnStamos Prince Albert comment a reference to the original VHS cover with the penis tower?! #thelittlemermaidlive— Alex Box (@Alex Box)1573006797.0
Shaggy sat out that Chef scene because he knew. 😑 He just knew. Even John Stamos knew. Who the heck is Prince Alber… https://t.co/9Kmz8eCSGI— Tiffany Richardson (@Tiffany Richardson)1573006963.0
@doreenmahonez I was wondering the same thing! I almost thought he was talking about the piercing 😩— Serenamorena (@Serenamorena)1573006717.0
In #LittleMermaidLive Nathan thinks when John Stamos says he should have played prince Albert instead of Eric he wa… https://t.co/MtUwwH8b27— Queens Podcast (@Queens Podcast)1573007283.0
It's for gems like these that we're here for live entertainment.
My favorite part of #TheLittleMermaidLive last night was definitely @JohnStamos. I loved his performance! He's als… https://t.co/ma8RVzLNd0— Terri (@Terri)1573052943.0
DID JOHN LEGENDARY STAMOS LITERALLY JUST END THAT NUMBER WITH A 4TH WALL BREAKING "I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE PLAYED PRIN… https://t.co/Uc6Z05OZTg— 🎃 Spooky Scary Alania 🎃 (@🎃 Spooky Scary Alania 🎃)1573006527.0
This isn't the actor's first foray portraying the maniacal chef. Stamos made his debut as Chef Louis during the Hollywood Bowl's 2016 performance of the same musical.
He explained to Playbill what draws him to the character.
"What's great playing this character is that he can flip at any moment; one second he loves the fish, the next he's going to murder them. He's like a Sweeney Todd character in that way."
The Little Mermaid Live is based on Walt Disney's classic 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, incorporating composer Alan Menken's music from both the movie and the 2007 Broadway musical.
The live televised musical event featured Auli'i Cravalho in the titular role; Queen Latifah as Ursula; Shaggy as Sebastian; Graham Phillips as Prince Eric; and a very memorable turn from John Stamos as Chef Louis.
Disney's animated classic The Little Mermaid Diamond Edition is available here.