A Florida high school graduate’s meticulously-planned graduation celebration went sideways after he did a back flip that sent him and a girl crashing down on stage.
The South Plantation High School alum, Gavin Robinson, planned the acrobatic move days before and even warned the girl, known only as Amelia, whom he met for the first time during rehearsals.
Nonetheless, what was supposed to have been a unique and impressive celebration of 13 years of schooling, became well-documented chaos after Amelia became distracted.
To the two teens, the incident was a success in another way: It racked up millions of TikTok views in just a few days.
Robinson did not escape unscathed
The reel, presumably filmed from the audience, shows Amelia walking across the stage at Nova Southeastern University’s Rick Case Arena on June 1, with another purple-clad graduate in tow when a flurry of graduation gown collided with her and knocked her flat.
Education officials and other students on stage could be seen rushing to the girl’s assistance—who later took responsibility for the mishap.
Seventeen-year-old Robinson did not escape unscathed as he too found himself lying on the floor.
He later gave an interview to PEOPLE saying: “When I took off into the air and felt myself hit my classmate, I thought, ‘Oh this can’t be happening.’”
He explained that he had only just met Amelia. “I didn’t know the girl until two days before graduation.”
Robinson further noted that he had warned her about what he had intended to do after receiving his diploma, but she dropped the ball when she became distracted with her hat.
Amelia says she is to blame
High schooler does a backflip and accidentally kicks the girl behind him while accepting his diploma.
Lmao.
The incident happened during the South Plantation High School graduation ceremony over the weekend.
“He did apologize but he did warn her before the name was called he… pic.twitter.com/Qr9mihoiFu
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 2, 2025
In another video posted on Robinson’s TikTok account, Amelia can be seen taking responsibility for the incident.
“It’s my fault,” she said in a shared video on Robinson’s account. “He told me he was flipping and I completely forgot.”
She went on to say that she was okay: “Yes, it’s me in the video,” she wrote in a caption on her copy of the incident.
“Hi guys! Ï’m all good and not hurt, he did tell me beforehand. I just got distracted. [Please] don’t send him any hate!!” she pleaded.
Amelia also noted that she told “him,” presumably Robinson, after the incident, that her graduation was a “night to remember.”
Robinson, in turn, told PEOPLE in an interview: “Not to blame her, of course it’s equally my fault, but if she didn’t run forward I would’ve landed it.”
A great part of social media blames the guy
Despite Amelia’s attitude towards the incident, there are netizens who believe that Robinson is solely to blame for his failed acrobatics.
“Why can’t you just take the blame when it was obviously your fault?” one netizen asked. “You as a man making a woman take the blame on video is insane.”
@itzgavinrobinson._ SEE IT WASNT MY FAULT#fyp #trending #florida ♬ original sound – Gavin Ramel Robinson
Another felt that the graduation stage was no place for Robinson’s antics in the first place.
They voiced this sentiment in response to Amelia’s version of the video, saying, “People are so weird! Like why must they always do the most?!?!” they wrote, and then to Amelia: “Hope your face is okay.”
The newly-graduated teen is adamant and stands on the backflip “1,000 percent”
Despite the way it panned out, Robinson insisted that he was happy he performed the backflip.
“Looking back, I 1,000% still stand on doing the backflip because I personally think this is just as good an outcome, if not better, than if I hadn’t done it,” he told PEOPLE.
The “better” outcome he was referring to is the popularity of the video. Since he posted it four days ago, it has racked more than 20,000 views with 775 likes.
“I didn’t think anything of it at first — I just assumed it was gonna flop — and three hours later, it went viral,” he said.
Amelia’s posting of the mishap dwarfed Robinon’s engagements with a whopping 3.8 million plays.
Social media is critical about the backflip
