ESPN host’s flustered reaction to gay New Year’s Eve kiss goes viral
Scott Van Pelt has gone viral for his reaction to a gay kiss. (ESPN)
Scott Van Pelt has gone viral for his reaction to a gay kiss. (ESPN)
ESPN broadcaster Scott Van Pelt has gone viral for his awkward reaction to seeing two men kissing during the channel’s recent New Year’s coverage.
As the 2026 celebrations got underway, Pelt was hosting the New Year’s Eve broadcast on ESPN, which included footage from Times Square’s ball-drop.
The SportsCenter coverage was certainly different from Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper’s annual NYE broadcast. On CNN, the pair mainly discussed gay hockey drama Heated Rivalry and debated which character they’d be.
That seems like a conversation fit for ESPN’s sports coverage, but their New Year’s showcase was rather different in tone.
Pelt, the 59-year-old sportscaster and sports talk show host, has been hosting the midnight edition since September 2015. The annual tradition saw people celebrating in New York City with confetti and kisses.
“Yeah… Live makeouts on SportsCenter. Get into it,” Pelt joked as he watched live footage of people kissing as the clock chimed midnight.
‘SportsCenter was NOT ready for New Year’s makeout.’
Then, a kiss between two men was broadcast. Pelt’s reaction appeared to be a mix of awkwardness and surprise.
“Ohhhhhhhh! What are we….” he began before cutting himself off. “What do we got? We got love in the air.”
He shrugs, hands in the air as he continues: “Who’s having a good time? Happy New Year, everybody!”
The clip of what appeared to be a momentary lapse in professionalism quickly went viral. Currently, it has over 7.1 million views on X.com alone. Some commenters have waved off his reaction, while others have shared their disappointment in the news anchor’s response.
“Now everyone’s gonna come after him,” one commenter replied.
Another shared: “Live TV really said “no script, just vibes” You can literally see the moment he realizes “oh this is LIVE live… act normal.””
“Not even about who’s kissing — it’s that SportsCenter was NOT ready for New Year’s makeout cam. Broadcasting chaos at its finest,” someone else wrote.
Another person in the replies offered their take: “I think what caught him off guard was it flashed on the screen after he said “yeah get into it”.”
