Entertainment
Jerry Seinfeld Booed by Pro-Palestinian Protesters During Duke Commencement Speech
Jerry Seinfeld was booed by pro-Palestinian protesters this weekend as he delivered this year’s commencement ceremony speech at Duke University.
May 13, 2024, published at 2:30 PM ET
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was booed by pro-Palestinian protesters this weekend as he delivered this year’s commencement ceremony speech at Duke University, RadarOnline.com can report.
The incident happened Sunday as Seinfeld, 70, stood in front of nearly 7,000 students as they prepared to graduate from the prestigious University of Durham, North Carolina.
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But about thirty of those seven thousand students got up and left the graduation ceremony shortly after the president Vincent Prins introduced the Seinfeld co-creator and awarded the comedian an honorary doctorate.
According to a video of the incident posted on X, the small group of graduates got up from their seats and walked outside while waving Palestinian flags. The pro-Palestinian protesters also booed Seinfeld as they left the ceremony.
“I think it happened really well today,” one graduate said of the graduation protest. “There was no disruption whatsoever to the ceremony and there was space for students to express their views.”
“This was a happy moment that we had to share,” another Duke graduate said of the incident, “with all of us.”
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The incident happened Sunday as Jerry Seinfeld, 70, stood before nearly 7,000 Duke University graduates.
As for Seinfeld, he chose not to address the demonstrators or protestors ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Rafah during his speech at his commencement ceremony on Sunday.
Instead, the comedian shared his “three real keys to life” and told the new graduates to “work hard,” “pay attention” and “fall in love.”
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“Whatever you do, I don’t care if it’s your job, your hobby, a relationship, getting a reservation at M Sushi,” Seinfeld began. “Make an effort.”
“Just pure, stupid, no-idea-what-I-am-doing-here,” he continued. “Effort always produces a positive value, even if the outcome of the effort is an absolute failure of the desired result.”
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Jerry Seinfeld chose not to address protesters during his speech at Duke University this weekend.
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Jerry Seinfeld
“This is a rule of life,” says the Immature star added. “Just swinging the bat and praying isn’t a bad approach to a lot of things.”
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If RadarOnline.com Previously reported, the protest during Seinfeld’s commencement ceremony speech on Sunday marked the last incident will take place on a university campus in the midst of ongoing business Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
According to the New York PostSeinfeld was met with hostility from the handful of Duke graduates over the weekend for his outspoken support of Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
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Seinfeld faced similar backlash in February when another group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside an event featuring the comedian in New York City.
The comedian and bee movie star reportedly visited Israel in December to meet survivors of the October 7 massacre and their families.
Seinfeld also had to deal similar reaction in February when another group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside an event featuring the comedian in New York City. Those protesters reportedly called Seinfeld a “genocide supporter.”
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Meanwhile, Duke University wasn’t the only college to experience minor disruption during its annual graduation ceremony this weekend.
About 60 Rutgers University graduates staged a similar walkout Sunday during the school’s commencement ceremony in New Jersey.
