A college professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville recently went viral after posting a comedic skit reacting to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement.
Matthew Pittman, an associate professor in the College of Communication and Information, racked up over 215,000 likes on the skit he shared to his official Instagram account on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
In the video, Pittman addressed a classroom full of students, announcing he was canceling a scheduled “biochem midterm” because of the big news.
“Due to this information, I can’t focus. You all can’t focus. Class is canceled. Get out of here,” he told his students, who responded with excitement. “Please [try] to process this information.”
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“No way!” one student could be heard exclaiming, while others gasped and cheered. Another student even threw on his backpack and sprinted out of the classroom, pumping his fist in celebration.
On Instagram, the video caught the attention of Kelce’s New Heights podcast, whose social media account commented, “W professor.”
A version of the skit was also shared on TikTok by an alleged student, where it racked up more than 1.7 million views in less than 24 hours. The TikToker captioned the clip, saying they “saw Taylor and Travis on the screen so I had to record,” joking that they weren’t “expecting this” from their professor.
On TikTok, viewers praised Pittman, with one writing, “Getting out of a midterm is INSANE,” while another added, “this is the most appropriate reaction to the news.”
Some fans even referenced Swift’s engagement caption, “your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” writing, “When the gym teacher and English teacher got engaged and the science teacher is the biggest supporter!!!!”
However, a longer video shared by Pittman’s college on Instagram confirmed the viral clip was staged as a comedic take on the news.
“Associate Professor Matthew Pittman, who studies social influence, cognition, and all things social media, breaks down the engagement from an advertising and PR perspective,” the post explained. “Watch how he connects this pop culture moment to the classroom (yes, including a skit at the end 🎭).”
“I don’t know how anybody can be expected to focus on schoolwork or anything work or career-related right now,” Pittman said in the video while walking through a university hallway. “It’s pretty big news. It’s going to take a few days to process this.”
Pittman described Swift and Kelce’s engagement post as “perfect” and predicted it could become “the number one shared post in the history of social media.”
“It’s gonna be everywhere for a long time,” the professor added, drawing comparisons to a royal wedding.
The “Fortnight” singer and Kansas City Chiefs player announced their engagement on Instagram on Aug. 26, sharing photos from their floral-filled garden proposal. The images showed Kelce getting down on one knee and the couple embracing afterward.
Swift showed off her engagement ring, designed by her football player fiancé with Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewelry. The ring features an old mine brilliant cut diamond on a gold band.
