Bonneville High School graduate goes viral after falling off stage during graduation
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IDAHO FALLS — A local teenager has gone viral after purposely falling off the stage during Bonneville High School’s latest graduation.
Jory Andersen, 18, said his graduating class wasn’t allowed to do a senior prank, so instead, Andersen decided to steal the spotlight during his graduation at the end of May. Video of Andersen shows him on the stage about to receive his diploma. He’s celebrating by running with his hands in the air moments before he trips himself, tumbles off the stage and his cap falls off his head.
Andersen said he and his friends talked about “tripping (or) making a scene” at the ceremony but he said his friends backed out.
“In the back of my mind, I was like how hilarious would it be if I did it but fell off the stage and nobody knew,” Andersen told EastIdahoNews.com. “None of my family knew. … I told a few teachers and … the kids that were sitting right next to me.”
He also called his brother right before and told him to record when he was on the stage but he didn’t say why.
“It was the scariest thing ever. The stage is high too. It was like 5 feet 5 inches tall,” Andersen said. “It was a big fall. I was thinking how am I going to fall off this without getting hurt? It was nerve-racking.”
After falling off the stage, video shows Andersen get back on his feet and jump onto the stage. He then turns to the crowd and throws his hands up as the audience cheers for him.
Before taking a dive, Andersen asked the two people he was sitting by if they’d pay him if he did it, and they said yes.
“I ended up with like $30,” he mentioned. “It was funny how many people told me (afterwards) they would’ve paid me.”
Andersen’s sister shared the video of her brother’s fall on TikTok but Andersen didn’t expect it to go viral. The video had over 14.8 million views as of Monday evening. He’s also been featured on several news agencies around the country.
Andersen knows there’s been a mixed response from viewers who’ve watched the video but he said the negative comments don’t bother him.
“It was so worth it,” Andersen said.