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Jerry Seinfeld has had himself a busy few weeks due to the release of his Netflix movie Unfrosted.
In an effort to promote the movie — which has been largely lampooned by both critics and audiences — Seinfeld has been doing tons of press in recent weeks, with his latest stop being at Duke University to give a commencement speech to this year’s graduates.
Before Seinfeld even began speaking, about a dozen students walked out to stage a pro-Palenstine protest.
student walkout at Duke university commencement as Jerry Seinfeld’s speech is announced. his introduction by university president is being drowned out by “free free Palestine” chants ❤️🔥🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/oNLesaput3
— the great clown snorman (@iamschvitzing) May 12, 2024
Then, when Seinfeld did begin his speech, he eventually broached the topic of his 2007 animated film Bee Movie, specifically the part where there’s a romantic subplot between the human woman voiced by Renee Zellweger and Seinfeld’s titular Barry B. Benson, who is an insect.
“I made a cartoon movie about bees you may have watched as a child. If any of you felt slightly uncomfortable about the sexual undertones in the relationship between Barry the bee and Vanessa, the florist who saves his life, I would like to apologize for that now. I may not have calibrated that perfectly, but I would not change it,” Seinfeld said.
In the nearly 20 years since the release of Bee Movie, the film has crafted an ironic legacy of being a meme movie, as its presence on the internet has remained consistent ever since.
A YouTube video titled “the bee movie makes me question everything for 4 minutes straight,” for example, has racked up over 13 million views since being posted two years ago.
Unfrosted, which also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Pete Dinklage, Bill Burr, Dan Levy, James Marsden, Christian Slate, Jack McBrayer, and more, is now streaming on Netflix.
You can check out Seinfeld’s full Duke University commencement speech below.