Kevin Bacon has a reputation for being one of the “good” celebrities. He lives a drama-free life on a maybe-haunted farmhouse in Connecticut with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, and takes his fame and all that comes with it in stride. He goodnaturedly leaned into the Six Degrees game, he loves to cook, and he’s gracious when approached by fans. Last year, he helped kick off the final senior prom at Payson High School, the Utah high school where Footloose was filmed. But, as it turns out, even Kevin has a limit. While doing a Q&A during a career retrospective event at SXSW last week, Kevin shared that his “worst nightmare” involves weddings, boozy guests, and the title song from Footloose.
“It’s what I wanted, I have no one to blame but myself. It was definitely my dream to have all those things. But until you really have that, you don’t really realize there’s something kind of strange about it,” the Emmy nominee shared. “My worst nightmare is to be at a wedding and the DJ puts on the music.”
Bacon admitted, “They always start out being about the bride, and then there’s alcohol involved. And by about 10:30, the song comes on, and suddenly the wedding becomes about me getting out and dancing. People will literally form a circle around me and clap their hands like I’m a trained monkey.”
To avert that scenario, the Hollow Man star said he approaches DJs ahead of time to ask them not to play “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, which soundtracked his iconic dancing scene in the classic movie.
“It’s not because I don’t love the song, I do love this song. It’s not because I’m not proud of the movie, I’m 100% proud of it,” Bacon clarified.
I totally understand the cringe factor here. Even for someone as seemingly chill as Kevin is, it sounds like a nightmare to have to perform when he’s just trying to celebrate with his friends. It’s nice that he takes the bride’s (and groom’s) feelings into consideration and doesn’t want to take the focus off of their night. Boundaries can be difficult to establish, but they are the best. Protecting his own peace while simultaneously keeping someone else’s big day from centering around him? Yeah, Kevin’s status as one of the most well-liked celebrities is well earned.
I also wonder what those DJs think when they turn around and see Kevin Bacon standing there, asking them not to play one of the most popular songs to dance to at big events, lol. That said, I wonder what Kevin’s actual jam is when it’s time to dance at weddings. Is he an “Electric Slide” kinda guy? Does he do the conga? The Macarena? Or does he really rock out to the Cupid Shuffle? Inquiring minds want to know.
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