Student Walk Out on Jerry Seinfeld’s Duke Commencement Speech

Jo Vito
·2 min read
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The post Student Walk Out on Jerry Seinfeld’s Duke Commencement Speech appeared first on Consequence.

Jerry Seinfeld gave the commencement speech at Duke University’s 2024 graduation ceremony on Sunday, prompting a group of pro-Palestinian students to stage a mass walk-out in protest.

Video capturing the moment was posted online, showing the tension at the ceremony. As Duke’s president, Vincent Price, introduced Seinfeld (literally saying “So, what’s the big deal about our commencement speaker?”), scores of students stood and walked out, with some waving Palestinian flags. Chants of “Free Palestine” rang out, while many booed (although, the videos don’t make it clear whether the booing was directed at Seinfeld, at the student protestors, or at both).

The incident comes after Seinfeld has faced criticism for his support of Israel. In 2018, he posed with machine guns at a military training facility in Efrat (a settlement illegally located inside the West Bank), and after hostilities broke out this past October, he posted that he “will always stand with Israel.” In December, he visited with Israeli families living on the Gaza border who were affected by the conflict.

Additionally, his wife, Jessica Sklar, confirmed the she helped fund counter-protestors who disrupted pro-Palestinian demonstrations at UCLA.

This has led to some pushback against Seinfeld, with videos of pro-Palestine protestors heckling him in New York City going viral this past February. Additionally, Seinfeld dug himself into an even deeper hole of not-great optics with his recent suggestion that the “extreme left and P.C. crap” is to blame for the downfall of TV comedy.

In any event, the “extreme left” must’ve dropped the ball on bringing about the downfall of comedy movies too, since Seinfeld’s latest project, Unfrosted, premiered on Netflix earlier this month.

As for his actual commencement remarks at the Duke graduation ceremony, after the protesting students walked out, Seinfeld delivered a what-you’d-expect speech, touching on college life, AI, and his recently-awarded honorary degree from the institution.

Seinfeld isn’t the only recipient of pro-Palestine boos, with Israel’s Eurovision contestant being met with significant controversy this week. As for the ongoing conflict, over 1,500 Israelis and 35,000 Palestinians have died in recent months.

 

Student Walk Out on Jerry Seinfeld’s Duke Commencement Speech
Jo Vito

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