The professional dancers are not comfortable performing for a sexual predator

When asked by a woman in the room if that means the Rockettes support President-elect Trump outright, Dolan clarified "no," but when pressed about the idea that aligning the Rockettes with such a controversial figure could tarnish the brand, Dolan didn't budge: "I don't believe it's going to hurt the brand. And nobody is more concerned about that than the guy sitting in this chair. I'm about to spend $50 million remounting this summer show. I'm going to spend a similar amount remounting next year's Christmas show. I gotta sell tickets." He went on to point out that support from Trump voters isn't something he wants to miss out on: "A good portion of people voted for this person. Hopefully they will like our brand. If 1% of 1% of them come to our show, we're going to do great."

Dolan made lengthy appeals to the employees gathered—some of whom were noticeably upset when speaking up and asking questions—that the Rockettes are a family. "And you are diverse," he said, "as diverse as we can make the Rockettes while still holding up the standards of quality." This comment may have been a reference to the news that, according to MarieClaire.com's source, no women of color have signed up to perform in the inauguration, which only underscores how few women of color are in the company overall. It's "embarrassing" on a normal day, she told us, but could become even more of a talking point as January 20 looms.