The Video Of This Dad's BBC News Interview Interrupted By His Kids Is Hilarious
Kids do the darndest things when you're working from home!
Wikipedia Do you have kids? Do you have nieces or nephews? Do you have friends with kids?
Then you know that when they’re around while you're working from home, the craziest stuff can happen ... as the man now known as "BBC Dad" found out when his Skype interview with BBC News unintentionally turned into one of the most classically funny viral videos of all time.
Dr. Robert E. Kelly, political analyst and associate professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Pusan National University in South Korea, his wife, and their kids became overnight sensations when what was supposed to be a straightforward news interview about the impeachment of South Korea's now-former president, Park Geun-hye.
As millions of people around the world have now seen in the video that almost immediately went viral, Professor Kelly was working from home in his study, and had just begun answering a question when his then 4-year old daughter Marion pranced into the room, soon followed by her then 9-month old baby brother James, scooting along like a boss in his walker.
Unsure of what to do, Kelly stuck his arm out to try in an unsuccessful effort to keep his mischievous daughter out of Daddy's chat.
Thankfully, Kelly's wife Jung-a Kim flew in after the kids on her socks Risky Business-style and whisked both of the children out of the room — followed by a ninja-chic side swoop using only one graceful arm to close the door behind the toddling trespassers.
If you missed it, here’s the hysterical original video of Dr. Robert E. Kelly's BBC interview being interrupted by his adorable kids:
As a mother myself, I totally felt his wife's terror and embarrassment.
You can watch your kids like a hawk for 59 out of the sixty seconds in any given minute and they will always find some naughty way to make use of that one second when your back is turned.
After the video was shared as a Twitter Moment, "It quickly went viral with all four becoming individual memes. In just one day, the video had over 6 million views on YouTube and became the No. 1 trending video on YouTube in the UK, later being named No. 10 on YouTube's list of the top 10 trending videos of 2017."
Of course, whenever something fun goes viral on social media, it has to become controversial.
Some media outlets and random people on the internet berated Kelly for the way he held he gently pushed his daughter back, saying instead he should have simply swooped her up onto his lap and carried on with his interview. Clearly, these people have never been interrupted unexpectedly by their children while working from home, especially in the middle of an opportunity of a lifetime like being interviewed as an expert on an international news program.
Others were outraged that so many people assumed his wife must be the nanny, presumably based on nothing other than the facts that Kelly is white, his wife is Asian, and she looked terrified and desperate to get those kids out of the room.
Professor Kelly and Jung-a Kim, have since come forward to explain how it all happened — and the simple explanation makes the story even funnier!
The husband and wife appeared with their interloping daughter and son in a follow-up interview with BCC, in which they explained how it all went down.
When asked what she had been doing when the children busted into Kelly's office, Kim replied, "I was recording his interview" on the TV in the another room.
Kelly further explained that there was a 20-second delay between what was happening in real time in front of the webcam in his office and when Kim could suddenly see her daughter appear on the screen. The moment she saw that happen, she whipped off to collect their wandering crew of tots.
Well, that makes sense!
Like a good husband should, Kelly acknowledged, "I had foolishly not locked the door. It's really all my fault for not locking the door" — which his wife proudly received with a firm nod of agreement.
And in response to the more controversial aspects of the video's reception by the world, Kim said, "We hope people can just enjoy it, not argue. I hope they stop."
I mean, the whole family is just so stinking cute!
Watch the full BCC World News interview with Jim Menendez here:
And last but not least, Professor Kelly did answer the major question that had been lingering on all of our minds since we first watched his family's viral video over and over and over again.
Menendez asked what we all wanted to know: "Were you wearing pajamas at the time? Some people said the reason you didn't get up at all was that either you were in your pajamas or maybe you didn't have any trousers on?"
Kelly responded, "Yes, I was wearing pants!"
So there you have it.
In a reflective essay on the one-year anniversary of the original interview, Kelly wrote, "Parents everywhere saw themselves in it. This was the most overwhelming reaction ... Parents in particular saw themselves in our shoes, struggling to balance work and life.
"Many of the comments we received were from parents who had had similar experiences, such as locking themselves in the bathroom so their kids could not interrupt a radio interview. These reactions were positive and empathetic. We were very moved by them."
Liza Walters is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, and relationship topics.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on March 14, 2017 and was updated with the latest information.