'Awkward' ESPN Moment Stuns Scott Van Pelt On Live TV, Now He Is Being Slammed For 'Disgusted' Reaction - What Happened?

Scott Van Pelt, ESPN's SportsCenter host, appeared visibly stunned on live television during his show's coverage of the New Year's Eve Ball Drop in Times Square.

The awkward moment came when the camera panned to a gay couple kissing, prompting a noticeable pause from Van Pelt. His reaction, which some viewers interpreted as visible discomfort or even disgust, has since gained traction online, with many criticising him over the incident. Here's what happened.

ESPN's Host Reaction to Same-Sex Couple Kissing

The video was originally posted on Instagram by Tara Rule (@tara_rule_). In the reel, she captioned it, 'caught my buddies @djacts423 and @ricky_locci_dpt in 4K,' with an on-screen overlay reading, 'SportsCenter Guy vs Gay.'

Since then, the clip has been reposted repeatedly on X, with Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) among the first to share it on the platform. His post quickly gained traction, amassing more than 6 million views.

Rugg's caption read: 'ESPN's Scott Van Pelt visibly disgusted after two men making out popped up on his screen during New Year's coverage.'

In the video, Van Pelt is seen reacting to couples kissing after the ball dropped in Times Square, officially welcoming 2026. 'Yeah... yeah! Live make-outs on SportsCenter. Get into it,' he said in response to a heterosexual couple kissing on screen.

However, when the camera then cut to a same-sex couple—later identified as DJ Petrosino (@djacts423 on Instagram), an interior designer and project coordinator, and his partner, Dr Ricky Locci (@ricky_locci_dpt on Instagram), a physical therapist and fitness coach—Van Pelt appeared to hesitate.

He paused awkwardly, let out a prolonged 'oh,' and raised both hands in the air, seemingly signalling disbelief.

The Awkward Exchange

'Ohhhhh! What are we—' he began, before stopping himself mid-sentence, seemingly realising he was about to say something that could cause controversy. He then corrected course, adding, 'What do we got? We've got love in the air.'

While throwing his hands in the air, he seemed to be doing everything he could to diffuse the awkwardness.

Van Pelt then greeted everyone with a Happy New Year, saying, 'Tony and Mike on kazoos,' while making hand gestures. He added, 'Who's having a good time? Happy New Year, everybody!'

The video's original poster, Tara Rule, reacted to the clip herself, saying, 'Oh! Wow. Bro.'

The Internet's Comments to Scott Van Pelt

With millions of views, Van Pelt's reaction sparked a mix of criticism, humour, and even praise for how he handled the moment. Many slammed him for the awkward pause, while others argued he narrowly saved himself from potential backlash.

One X user reposted Rugg's video, writing, 'Scott Van Pelt was disgusted after two men making out popped up during ESPN's New Year's broadcast.'

Another X user responded with a screenshot of a 2017 study, the headline of which read: 'Straight men's physiological stress response to seeing two men kissing is the same as seeing maggots.' Rugg simply replied, 'WOW.'

The video also circulated on Reddit, where commenters cited the same study. One Reddit user wrote:

'Yeah, I don't get the outrage here. It's been scientifically proven that straight men, regardless of their overall feelings on homosexuality, have physical and psychological disgust indicators triggered when they see male-male kissing. He didn't say anything homophobic, just had a reaction to something he wasn't expecting to see,' and included a link to the study.' Along with the link to the study.

Another chimed in, 'Scott Van Pelt with the save... Bro just about got cancelled.' Some comments suggested he knew he was on thin ice, with one noting, 'He was rightfully disgusted, but soon realised his next words might get him fired.'

Others took a more humorous angle, poking fun at his facial expressions: 'Scott's face said "I didn't sign up for this" 😂,' while another added, 'He caught himself about three seconds before blowing up his entire life 🤣.'

Praise for his quick recovery also surfaced, with one user calling it the 'Greatest save of the year so far 👏🤣.'

Meanwhile, others speculated about what he almost said: 'He wanted to say "What are we doing here?"' and 'He was about to say "What are we DOING?!" but caught himself.'

Some commenters joked about what could have happened if he hadn't paused: 'Should've finished the "What are we doing?" and if that gets you fired, so be it,' and 'The recovery was anything but smooth 😂.'

One summed it up: 'Scott Van Pelt almost got cancelled at that New Year's countdown moment lmaooooo.'

Van Pelt has not issued any statement regarding his viral moment at the beginning of 2026.