'Funniest interview of the year' sparks angry backlash online

Professor Robert Kelly, an expert on Korean politics, became an instant celebrity this week thanks to an unscheduled interruption during a live interview on BBC News.

The Professor was discussing the impeachment of South Korea's president Park Geun-hye when his young daughter appeared in the background in his study.

Footage of the interview appeared on Twitter and quickly went viral, with viewers around the world reveling in the near-perfect comic timing of the interruptions.

The video of Professor Robert Kelly's two children gatecrashing the #BBC interview has made my week! TV Gold :) pic.twitter.com/91gsV9e4LE

— Desi Kadyova (@DesiKadyova) March 10, 2017

This BBC dad video is just a perfectly constructed piece of comedy. Rule of threes. Straight man. Escalating stakes.

— luke (@lukeoneil47) March 10, 2017

BBC interview is the greatest TV moment of all time. When the mother/nanny comes rushing it's like something from "A Night At The Opera".

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) March 10, 2017

I literally can't stop watching the BBC guy whose kid walks into the shot. It is hands down the funniest piece of TV in history 😂😂😂

— Anthea Poulos (@antheaknowsbest) March 11, 2017

I know everyone's seen it but I think that BBC interview yesterday is possibly the best thing I have ever watched. Comedy writers dream.

— s shotts 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@sshotts) March 11, 2017

The clip even spawned a couple of parodies:

That mom bust in rhe interview like pic.twitter.com/Lr4ZJkQYAJ

— Kevín (@KevOnStage) March 11, 2017

Our take on BBC dad pic.twitter.com/yAKvLuqiNP

— Ashly Perez (@itsashlyperez) March 10, 2017

However, this being the internet in 2017, all the untrammeled joy couldn't continue for long before naysayers started chiming in to point out that the clip was, in fact, bad and wrong, and not funny like you thought, you idiot.

Critics pointed disapprovingly to the way Professor Kelly tried to push his daughter away:

Wow...the BBC dad pushed his kid away. Glad he's not my father. https://t.co/XqTRFH0s4k

— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) March 10, 2017

RE: that viral BBC reporter video, that was his one chance to be a cool dad and add levity. Instead, he pushed his daughter away. Sad face.

— Michael J. Miraflor (@michaelmiraflor) March 10, 2017

There was a lot of talk about the "nanny" on Twitter - and many questioning the assumption that she was hired-help and not the children's mother:

What gets me most about the BBC interview is the assumption that the woman grabbing the kids is the nanny because she's not Caucasian.

— Casey // ⚽ (@CaseyToGo) March 11, 2017

Yikes, embarrassed for the people assuming the woman behind today's viral Kelly BBC interview is the nanny/babysitter. She's his wife.

— Hiba Traboulsi (@Hiba_Traboulsi) March 11, 2017

If you assumed the ninja mom in the bbc video was the nanny you should check yourself. https://t.co/j5uohzkBeO

— Michelle Newcome (@michellenewcome) March 11, 2017