His address otherwise went on as planned, and Jerry opted not to address the protest.
Other students chanted “Jerry! Jerry!” as he received an honorary degree.
During his speech, Jerry vowed to “defend” his privilege, telling the crowd, “A lot of you are thinking, ‘I can’t believe they invited this guy.’ Too late.
“I say, use your privilege. I grew up a Jewish boy from New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian.”
The comic has already caused controversy with his advocacy for Israel during the ongoing war, along with his wife Jessica.
Following Hamas’ attack on October 7, killing 1200 people and abducting 252 others, Jerry traveled to Israel and met with families of hostages taken by the terrorist group. 133 people are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza.
He was then heckled on the streets of New York by protestors in February.
Duke University spokesman Frank Tramble said in a statement: “We understand the depth of feeling in our community, and as we have all year, we respect the right of everyone at Duke to express their views peacefully, without preventing graduates and their families from celebrating their achievement.”
According to local health officials, over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military operations, with over 70,000 injured.
