Aubrey Plaza Channels J.Lo for a Catastrophic Pole Dance on Ellen

Jennifer Lopez has been open about how hard it was to learn to pole dance for Hustlers yet she made it look effortless but Aubrey Plaza’s attempt on the Ellen DeGeneres show was less sex appeal and more like “the struggle is real.” The half-Puerto Rican actress may share a cultural background with the Boricua dancer-singer-actress but she still needs a little more practice when it comes to channeling J.Lo’s now-iconic pole dancing from the film.

The Child’s Play star, 35, was discussing her upcoming gig hosting the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards Feb. 8 in Santa Monica and Plaza praised JL.o for her work on Hustlers since the multi-talented actress is nominated for best-supporting actress. DeGeneres pitched the idea of working the pole since the Parks and Recreation star is hosting the awards show and in true Ellen fashion, she brought out a pole to get her to try it out.

Plaza, a huge Judy Garland fan, requested “The Trolley Song” but they went with something more Burlesque sounding while she wrapped herself around the pole wearing tight pants, a jacket, and Louboutin shoes. She quickly slid down and DeGeneres tried to help maneuver her legs around the pole in a disastrous attempt as Ellen stated, “You’re not that good at it.” To her credit, it’s safe to assume she’d never been on a pole before and even J. Lo admitted it’s no easy task to learn especially in a short amount of time.

“It’s rough on your body,” Lopez explained in a behind the scenes video about the film. “It’s real acrobatics, but I’m just trying to learn the mechanics right now because strippers have lots of time to practice, they’re there every night, they learn little by little, but we have to do a crash course.” Plaza’s crash was endearingly real but she was determined to try so she climbed the pole like a rope to much applause but then was hesitant to slide down. “I’m scared,” Aubrey yelled, before dropping to the bottom of the pole, embracing the awkwardness she laid at the bottom of the pole and posed.

This is in line with Plaza’s willingness to have fun for the sake of a good laugh. “I actually don’t mind being humiliated — public humiliation,” she told Ellen after watching a clip of her being scared during the last visit to the show. “I feel like, at least, if I can humiliate myself then I sacrifice myself for the viewers…the good of mankind. I can take a hit…I’m humiliated every second. But I’m saying that I like it. It makes me feel alive…I don’t know what I’m saying.”