DURHAM, N.C. (TND) — Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, applauded her husband's supporters Sunday following his commencement speech for Duke University.
Dozens of graduates walked out of the ceremony as the comedian took the stage to deliver his address. Other attendees booed, which Jessica Seinfeld said was directed toward the protesters, who she suggested disapproved of her husband’s Jewish identity.
Jessica Seinfeld also claimed the rest of the graduates were responsible for the cheers that followed the walkout.
“Protestors, about 40 of them, got boo’d as they walked out of their own graduation in protest of a Jewish commencement speaker,” she wrote on Instagram. “The roughly 7,000 people in the stadium who stayed started chanting ‘Jer-ry!’ as he began his fantastic speech.”Students who walked out held their own commencement ceremony elsewhere on campus, according to photos and videos shared to social media. In one photo, a student condemns Duke for inviting a "Zionist, pro genocide [sic] commencement speaker" to campus.
Jerry Seinfeld has supported Israel during its war against Hamas.
READ MORE | 'Squad' member applauds 'courageous' anti-Israel student protesters
Toward the beginning of his speech, the comedian told students his three keys to life are “bust your a--,” “pay attention” and “fall in love,” and he later encouraged them to leverage their privileges, like their diplomas from Duke.
“Privilege is a word that has taken quite a beating lately. Privilege today seems to be the worst thing you can have. I would like to take a moment to defend it,” Jerry Seinfeld said. “A lot of you are thinking, 'I can’t believe they invited this guy.' Too late. I say, use your privilege.”Jessica Seinfeld praised her husband’s remarks.
“The feedback has been exceptional- especially from Duke students! Hard to give to [sic] speech on graduation day that kids respond to, and my man did it. So proud,” she wrote. “Thank you, Duke kids and parents for being so enthusiastic. We love our school.”
Jerry Seinfeld also took a jab at Harvard University, which has incurred criticism over the past several months as it addressed anti-Israel sentiments.
“When I was writing my TV series, we had a lot of Harvard guys. They were fantastic, but I could never understand why these guys were so embarrassed being from Harvard,” he said. “I’m not talking about Harvard now, I’m talking about the way it used to be. You’ll never believe this: Harvard used to be a great place to go to school. Now, it’s Duke.”
Jerry Seinfeld’s address was one of several to make headlines as graduate protesters demonstrated against their commencement speakers over the weekend. At Virginia Commonwealth University, students walked out of their ceremony as Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has opposed pro-Palestine protests, delivered his remarks.
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