An interview about South Korea’s political upheaval became one of the most popular things on the Internet this week, when the children of professor Robert E. Kelly became the inadvertent stars of his spot on the BBC.
The BBC News video of the sequence was retweeted and “liked” thousands of times, and Kelly won empathy — especially from those who said they can identify with the struggle to be both a professional and a parent in the same moment.
“I think it’s awesome that a man can be world class in his field and have a family where their kids feel comfortable enough to play with him,” Rob Erickson said via Twitter.
The professor of political science in South Korea was appearing via webcam on Friday, March 10, to weigh in on the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Mid-interview, a little girl in a yellow shirt swung open the door to Kelly’s office and enthusiastically marched over to her father.
At first, Kelly didn’t seem to notice the commotion behind him, until the host remarked, “I think one of your children has just walked in.”
The smiling toddler tried to climb up on her dad’s lap while Kelly gently nudged her away. “Pardon me,” he said with a laugh. “My apologies.” Suddenly, another child burst through the door in a walker, closely followed by a seemingly mortified woman. She grabbed both of the kids, shuffled them out of the room and closed the door behind them.
Kelly kept his composure the whole time and jumped right back into answering questions about Geun-hye.
Social media users couldn’t get enough of the kids. “Can you get the kids back on for an interview? can’t stop laughing,” one person tweeted. Another added, “If she’s the nanny don’t fire her. She pulled a @TomCruise style rescue.” Others pointed out how the woman slid into the room and saved the day: “And for ‘best performance by a mom’ ….the oscar goes to..”
Watch the hilarious video below:
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