It's OK to Boo Jerry Seinfeld Actually

He's gonna be fine. All the commencement speakers are gonna be just fine.

Duke University

Let me start off by saying that for the most part, I like Jerry Seinfeld. I like his TV show, I like his stand-up, and I even like his Bee Movie, which isn’t exactly “good” but is so genuinely weird that I can’t help but appreciate it for what it is. To this day, I’ll mutter the phrase “that was a wicked googly” to myself, because I heard him say it years ago in an American Express commercial and now it’s wormed itself into my brain, RFK Jr-style, and I can’t get it out.

I mention all this because this week Seinfeld delivered the commencement address at Duke University’s graduation ceremony, during which a number of departing students booed his speech, and chanted “free Palestine.” Some even walked out before his remarks began.

Many people seem to think this was a Big Deal™. But those people are wrong. Not only that, they’re wrong both in the particulars of their criticism and in the abstract.

Mine is evidently a minority opinion given how many people are freaking out about this, but again, those people are wrong. I say: Boo away. Hit the road. Do what you want, it’s totally alright!

Here’s why.