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Family behind viral professor's BBC live interview speaks out
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While the grainy video was unremarkable at first, in the middle of the interview, Kelly’s two young children entered the room before a South Korean woman came barreling through the door and went to guide the children back outside. (BBC/File)
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fter a video featuring his two children crashing his interview with BBC went viral, Professor Robert Kelly and his wife, Jung-a Kim, have finally broken their silence.
Kim told James Menendez, the man who conducted the original interview, that the experience had been “a little bit stressful, but that [they] are trying to handle it” and that the family “laughed a lot, but still were worried a little bit more”.
“We were worried actually that the BBC would never call us again. That was our first response – mortification that we had completely blown our relationship with you,” Kelly added, though he admitted that he and his wife “understand why people find it enjoyable... It’s funny.”
Read also: Jackie Chan’s stunt team pays tribute to him in viral video
Kelly told the Wall Street Journal the reason that their 4-year-old, Marion, was so excitable and confident was because earlier that day she celebrated her birthday at kindergarten. “She was in a hippity-hoppity mood that day because of the school party.”
In response to some people’s outcry about him trying to push Marion away during the interview, Kelly explained that there were toys behind him, and he was hoping that she would notice them instead.
Other people’s reactions also made Kelly “pretty uncomfortable”, when they assumed that Kim was the nanny instead of the mother of the children.
Kim had a more relaxed attitude about the assumptions. “I hope people just enjoy it and don’t argue over this thing,” she said. “I’m not the nanny – that’s the truth – so I hope they stop arguing.”
Kelly also blames himself for the intrusion of the two kids, as he forgot to lock the door. (sul/kes)
