Internet Culture

The full story behind that viral BBC interview is here—and it is adorable

Even though their kids unwillingly made them viral stars, they still love them.

Photo of David Covucci

David Covucci

robert kelly follow up interview

Earlier this week, the internet was captivated by an interview on the BBC with an expert on the Korean peninsula, Robert Kelly, and his two little children, who completely hijacked the segment.

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The 30-second clip spawned theories and think pieces, and dominated the internet discourse.

On Tuesday, the couple and their kids sat down with the Wall Street Journal to discuss their moment of internet fame. Calling it a “comedy of errors,” Kelly outlined what happened.

Kelly said he noticed immediately on his screen that his child had entered the room. He tried to play it off, but, unfortunately, his kid was much too energetic for that.

“She was in a hippity-hoppity mood that day because of the school party,” Kelly said.

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Of course. Sugar rush explains a lot. His wife, who was with the kids, noticed they weren’t around and then had an “oh shit” moment when she saw his door ajar.

Kelly said that despite initially being cautious about the clip going viral, they embraced it.

“It was a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and amusement, and love and affection,” he said. “I saw the video like everyone else, and it’s terribly cute.”

Not that they could have ignored the attention.

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“We turned off our phones for a while,” the couple said, because they were getting so many notifications. But the responses have been “overwhelmingly” positive. That said, they’re ready for it to die down so they can get back to parenting normally.

Oh, and he was wearing jeans.

Watch the whole interview here.

 
The Daily Dot