— katie k (@katiekelzenberg) April 15, 2018
Last week, a Minnesota high school senior named Katie Kelzenberg posted a video to Twitter, asking Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, to go to prom with her. Now, as I wrote around this time last year, I’m not a fan of prom-posal videos in general, with the very public pressure they put on the (usually female) recipient to accept the invitation. I’m even less of a fan of celebrity promposals and how excited so many adults seem to get over the idea of a child trying to romance an adult. I find the whole trend to be creepy.
That being said, I find myself completely charmed by Kelzenberg’s video. Maybe it’s her commitment to cosplay. Maybe it’s her merch collection. I think it’s all of it.
@TheRock PROM?! pic.twitter.com/VyHhrpVQYe
— katie k (@katiekelzenberg) April 15, 2018
It appears that Johnson took notice of the invitation immediately, tweeting back at her only 11 minutes later. He told her he couldn’t make prom since he’d be on location filming Jungle Cruise, but that he’d have a “personal video response” for her shortly. Not only did he post that video but, at the same time, Johnson took over the morning announcements at Katie’s school for an even more personal response.
The moment when Katie and her friends realize whose voice that is coming out of the PA system is absolutely delightful.
So instead of taking Katie to prom (which would be legit uncomfortable for everyone involved), he rented out a theater in her town for a screening of Rampage for her and 200+ of her friends.
Here’s what I love about this response: How he praises her confidence (although I wish he didn’t feel the need to criticize other women by comparison) and refers to himself in that post as “Uncle DJ.” This whole trend of children (again, usually boys) asking adults (usually women) on a date puts those very public figures in the position of having to be courteous and express gratitude while also shutting down implications of romance. “Uncle DJ” manages to shower Katie with platonic admiration.
I also really appreciate that in the video, he calls on other boys to take Katie to prom, but then immediately follows that up with the even better suggestion that she take herself and just have a great time with her friends.
I hope the celebrity promposal trend fades out as soon as possible, but in the meantime, at least we have Dwayne Johnson. (And Katie and her awesome fanny pack, of course.)
(image: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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