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yesterday

UT Professor’s Viral “Class Canceled” Over Swift–Kelce Engagement Was a Planned Lesson

The Tombras School says the skit served as a media‑literacy exercise for a social media class.

professor cancels class for taylor swift's engagement
FILE – Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, right, is congratulated by Taylor Swift as they celebrate the Chiefs victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship NFL football game, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
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Overview

  • In the video, Associate Professor Matthew Pittman announces a supposed BioChem midterm and class are canceled after the couple’s engagement post, prompting students to rush out.
  • Pittman and the University of Tennessee’s Tombras School later clarified the moment was scripted, with Pittman telling USA TODAY it was recorded before class with students volunteering for roles.
  • The clip, first posted by the UTK Social Media class, drew roughly 230,000 likes on Instagram within a day, and reposts on TikTok surpassed 2 million views.
  • Swift and Kelce’s joint Instagram announcement amassed more than 30 million likes in about 24 hours, giving the class real-time data to analyze platform engagement and timing.
  • Reaction online ranged from praise for inventive teaching to criticism over authenticity, fueling conversation about fact‑checking and how pop culture is used in coursework.