Dozens of students walked out of Duke University’s graduation ceremony on Sunday in North Carolina, as actor/comedian Jerry Seinfeld was about to give his commencement speech. Seinfeld was met with boos, with some graduating students walking out, in what is the latest in a wave of anti-war protests that took place at college graduations across the country this weekend.
Videos on social media showed a group of students with Palestinian flags walking down an aisle on the stadium field, filing out of the crowd of graduates at the North Carolina university’s football stadium. Other students and some attendees in the bleachers also stood up from their seats and began walking out of the stadium. Duke University President Vincent Price’s introduction to Seinfeld was drowned out by some people chanting “free Palestine,” while others shouted “Jerry! Jerry!” Seinfeld also received an honorary degree from the school, where his son is currently enrolled and his daughter previously graduated.
The 70-year-old Seinfeld has vocally supported Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, and has visited the country following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Editorial credit: Jay Yuan / Shutterstock.com