Indian-origin Megha Vemuri trolled after 'hijacking' MIT event with pro-Palestine speech: 'Rude, disrespectful'
Megha Vemuri, an American student of Indian origin and President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Class of 2025, is facing intense criticism on social media following a pro-Palestine speech delivered during her graduation ceremony.
The remarks, made as part of her official address, have sparked massive debate online, drawing both support and condemnation. Among those criticising Vemuri is Israeli entrepreneur Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of a cryptocurrency firm, who posted a strongly worded message on X (formerly Twitter) condemning her comments. Ohayon took issue with Vemuri's denunciation of MIT's associations with Israel and her call for solidarity with Palestine.
'Make that b*tch famous. May she never find any career path and be humiliated for what she just did and did before that. Ps: Megha, if you really want to sound cool, work on your 'rrrrrhaazzzza' accent,' Ohayon wrote. He further shared a link to Vemuri's LinkedIn profile, which has since been deactivated.
Political commentator Megyn Kelly also criticised Vemuri, accusing her of 'hijacking' the ceremony. She wrote, 'So this woman hijacks the MIT graduation to make the whole thing about her personal beliefs about Israel, any insult to the Jewish students or others in attendance be damned. Selfish, self-aggrandising, disrespectful & RUDE.'
Imtiaz Mahmood added: 'This is what Harvard, MIT, Oxford, UCLA, and others are producing—woke zombies. Here is MIT's class president, Megha Vemuri, a brainwashed Hindu girl, giving her graduation speech bashing Israel.'
A fourth user commented, 'You don't have to call her names. Trust me, her views are not reflections of Indians at large in the US or India. She is one of those woke types. We are equally pissed at her.'
'The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with. This means that Israel's assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school,' Vemuri said during her address.
According to a report by NBC News, MIT stated that the student's speech at the graduation ceremony differed from the version she had previously submitted to the university. As a result, she was barred from participating in the remainder of the event.
"While that individual had a scheduled role at today's Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, she was notified that she would not be permitted at today's events," said university spokesperson Kimberly Allen.
'MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organisers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony,' Allen added.
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