Latest news with #KermitTheFrog
Geek Tyrant
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Kermit the Frog Delivers Heartfelt and Inspiring Commencement Speech at University of Maryland — GeekTyrant
Kermit the Frog took the stage at the University of Maryland's 2025 commencement ceremony and gave the graduating class a moment to remember, one that was as heartfelt and inspiring. With that familiar green face and humble wisdom, Kermit reminded the grads that life, like The Muppet Show , is best when shared with the people who truly get you. Why did Kermit give the commencement speech at Maryland? Jim Henson, Kermit's legendary creator, and his wife Jane were both proud University of Maryland alumni—and fans of the Maryland Terrapins. So for Kermit, this wasn't just another speech. It was a homecoming. Kermit told the students: 'Now there is no guarantee that the show is always good or that it'll go off without a hitch or it doesn't have its hecklers. But the show must go on and if you're with your people then you won't have to do it alone. Because life is not a solo act. 'No it's not. It's a big messy delightful ensemble piece especially when you're with your people. These are friends that you might have for your whole life and there will be many others to collect along the way.' He went on to urge kindness and connection over cutthroat competition: 'So as you prepare to take this big leap into real life here's a little advice if you're willing to listen to a frog. Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side because life is better when we leap together … 'Because if I know anything it's important to stay connected to your loved ones, stay connected to your friends, and most of all stay connected to your dreams. No matter how big, no matter how impossible they seem, the truth is dreams are how we figure out where we want to go.' In an age when so many commencement speeches blur together with corporate jargon and polished clichés, Kermit's words felt personal and sincere. That's the Muppet magic. Underneath the felt and googly eyes is a philosophy that's never gone out of style… community matters, dreams matter, and even in the mess, the show must go on. For a graduating class standing on the edge of uncertainty, it turns out one of the most reassuring voices they could hear wasn't a billionaire or politician, it was a frog reminding them to leap together.
CNN
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Where Kermit the Frog's tea meme came from
Where Kermit the Frog's tea meme came from Kermit the Frog tells CNN's Sara Sidner his thoughts on being an infamous part of meme culture. 00:41 - Source: CNN Vertical Trending Now 16 videos Where Kermit the Frog's tea meme came from Kermit the Frog tells CNN's Sara Sidner his thoughts on being an infamous part of meme culture. 00:41 - Source: CNN Verdict reached in Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian After a weekslong trial, eight people behind the multimillion-dollar armed robbery of Kim Kardashian in Paris were found guilty. Most of them received prison sentences, portions of which were suspended, but all will walk free due to time already served. 00:43 - Source: CNN Anderson catches up with man sailing around the world Anderson Cooper speaks with Oliver Widger for an update on his viral adventures sailing across the world. Widger quit his job, liquidated his 401(k) and bought a sailboat to see the world with his rescue cat, Phoenix. 01:55 - Source: CNN See moment OceanGate team noticed something wrong Newly released video shows OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush's wife, Wendy Rush, who was working on the communications and tracking team, notice the sound of a 'bang' while monitoring the submersible. The Titan submersible imploded on June 18, 2023, killing all five passengers on board. 00:49 - Source: CNN 'The Points Guy' on the best deals for summer travel Brian Kelly, founder of breaks down the best deals for summer travel and how to make the most of your frequent flyer miles. 01:00 - Source: CNN Where Shein and Temu customers are shopping now 02:07 - Source: CNN Former clean-up man for 'Diddy' testifies Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former assistant George Kaplan, an apparent clean-up man for the defendant's Bad Boy Enterprises, took the stand to testify in the federal trial against Combs. Kaplan described his job that included preparing hotel rooms for 'Diddy' as prosecutors aim to connect Kaplan's testimony to paint a picture of a network of employees that enabled Combs' alleged abuse. 02:36 - Source: CNN Climber rescued by helicopter after 30-foot fall in California A helicopter rescue crew hoisted a climber to safety after they fell roughly 30 feet while scaling Lily Rock in Idyllwild, California. The climber was left clinging to the cliffside with a limb injury. 00:49 - Source: CNN Watch ancient tower partially collapse in eastern China A tourist attraction originally built in the 14th century in Anhui, China, partially collapsed on Monday. Local authorities have closed the Fengyang Drum Tower for maintenance following the incident. 00:56 - Source: CNN NFL players are now allowed to play flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics NFL owners vote unanimously to allow players to compete in inaugural Flag Football competition at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. CNN Sports' Andy Scholes has more. 00:58 - Source: CNN See "Cheers" star George Wendt's most memorable moments Actor and comedian George Wendt, beloved for his performance as Norm Peterson on the long-running comedy series "Cheers" has died aged 76. Wendt's career spanned more than four decades, and included six consecutive Emmy nominations. CNN looks back at some of his best moments. 00:57 - Source: CNN Kermit the Frog's advice for 2025 graduates and what he learned from 'the school of life' The University of Maryland's 2025 commencement speaker Kermit the Frog shares his advice for graduates with CNN's Sara Sidner. 01:14 - Source: CNN What most people don't know about the man who played Norm on 'Cheers' CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten shares some interesting facts about 'Cheers' actor George Wendt following his death at the age of 76. 01:33 - Source: CNN Ms. Rachel meets 3-year-old from Gaza YouTube star and children's educator Rachel Accurso, whose 'Songs for Littles' have been viewed billions of times, meets and sings one of her trademark songs with Rahaf, a 3-year-old double amputee from Gaza. Accurso, who has millions of followers across social media, has been outspoken about her views that the children in Gaza face a humanitarian crisis, and says she has received both support and bullying for her posts. 03:15 - Source: CNN Lightning bolt strikes police vehicle in Oklahoma Security footage captured the moment a lightning bolt struck a police vehicle in Newcastle, Oklahoma during severe storms that swept across the southern US on Monday. No one was injured in the incident, according to the Newcastle Emergency Department. 00:18 - Source: CNN
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Backlash over Kermit the Frog delivering 'woke' university's commencement address
The University of Maryland has been slammed after having Kermit the Frog deliver its commencement address. About 13,500 graduates gathered in the college's SECU Stadium on Thursday, where the character delivered his controversial commentary. Kermit was chosen as this year's speaker as an homage to his creator, Jim Henson, an alumni who passed away in 1990 at 53. 'As you prepare to take this big leap into real life, here's a little advice - if you're willing to listen to a frog,' the green Muppets star eagerly told the crowd. 'Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want, consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side, because life is better when we leap together.' His roughly 15-minute lecture also included a Rainbow Connection sing-a-long, a nod to the 1979 Muppet Movie where Kermit, voiced by Henson, debuted the song. But what was meant to be an inspirational message has sparked fierce backlash, with critics claiming the fictional frog was way off base. Riley Gaines, a conservative podcaster known for her advocacy against transwomen in women's sports, tore into the address on a Fox News Hannity Special on Friday. 'It's unserious, it's out of touch, and frankly, it's insulting,' the former swimmer told host Jason Chaffetz. 'Imagine being a 22-year-old student, who's graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering, and a frog from The Muppets is telling you to stay connected with your people.' She was not only upset with what Kermit had to say, but the fact that he was chosen to speak at the ceremony to begin with. 'Instead of honoring entrepreneurs or veterans or innovators, they picked Kermit the Frog,' Gaines added. 'We have students who are drowning in debt, who are struggling to find jobs, and universities are handing the mic to puppets.' Some people on social media share Gaines' sentiment, with one X user writing: 'Just wondering who the idiots were that made the choice to hire Kermit the Frog as a commencement speaker at the University of Maryland. Another man said: 'Imagine going to college for 4-5 years and at your graduation the commencement speaker is Kermit the Frog? I would be in there laughing the whole time.' 'Having Kermit the Frog speak at the University of Maryland graduation appears to indicate that the University leaders do not take the students seriously,' one woman agreed. But not everyone was infuriated by what Kermit - voiced by puppeteer Matt Vogel - told the graduates. One user asked: 'Do you know how f**king psyched I would've been to have KERMIT THE GRO as my commencement speaker?' 'I'm sorry but it would be AMAZING to have Kermit the Frog as commencement speaker,' someone wrote, directly responding to Gaines' commentary. Photos from the commencement show smiling students, seemingly thrilled with Kermit offering up some parting advice. The famous puppet has become a symbol on campus, with a bronze statue of Kermit chatting with Henson being placed in the garden in 2003 to permanently commemorate the pair. University President Darryll J. Pines announced Kermit would be the graduation's main speaker back in March. 'This incredible speaker honors the long history between the University of Maryland and Muppets creator Jim Henson, who graduated from UMD in 1960,' he wrote to students. 'A home economics major with an eye for innovation, Henson created Kermit using one of his mother's coats and a ping-pong ball cut in half. 'From those humble beginnings, Kermit has gone on to become one of the world's most beloved and enduring cultural icons - all while sharing a message of optimism and believing in yourself.'
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Alan Davies: ‘I get called Jonathan Creek all the time – nowadays people think I'm James May'
In your first memoir, My Favourite People and Me, you picked Kylie Minogue as one of your favourite people – but added that you stopped loving her when I Should Be So Lucky came out. To make this a question: how dare you? Ah, Kylie. She's completely adored everywhere she goes, and I adore her as well. I fell for her when she was Charlene in Neighbours – I was a student studying drama in the 80s and the only drama that any of us cared about was Neighbours. Australian girls were the pin-ups for everybody in England. There was a studio in the UK called London Studios where we filmed QI for years until it closed down. There was a picture outside my dressing room of Kylie Minogue singing to Kermit the Frog. She looked so exquisitely beautiful, and Kermit, of course, is very cute as well. After a wrap party, I'd had a few wines so I tried to get it off the wall to take it home. It was so screwed on that all I did was crack the glass and cut my finger. I was like, 'Oh my God, what am I doing?' There was almost certainly CCTV in that corridor. And blood splattered on the picture. I am very enamoured of Kylie Minogue. Subsequently to the picture incident, I actually ordered a Kylie wristwatch. There is a picture of her on the face of the watch, which presumably is lifesize because she is a very, very small lady. You are about to tour Australia for the first time in a decade. After all your visits, is there anything you still don't quite understand about it? The antipathy towards New Zealand! It's so extraordinary. The hostility is off the scale. New Zealand's beauty doesn't take away from the extraordinary natural beauty of Australia. You've got fantastic marsupials. There's no denying it. Why do you guys hate each other? But it's the same if you go to Devon and Cornwall. These are two of the most beautiful counties in Britain – and they detest one another! The thing that kills people who live in Cornwall is that you have to go through Devon to get to it. What is your most controversial pop culture opinion? Will Ferrell should have won an Oscar for Blades of Glory. They never give it to a comedian, do they? In that film you cannot take your eyes off him. It's an astonishing performance. There's one bit where he's got no shirt on – I love him because, like a normal person, he hasn't been to the gym. He's just a regular bloke with three terrible tattoos. He turns around and says to someone, 'Checking out my ink?' It just makes me laugh so much. I also think he should have won an Oscar for Elf: 'You're sitting on a throne of lies!' Where is the weirdest place you've been recognised? There is always a urinal involved. I was at a festival where they had these urinals in the gents where you all face one another – so you're obscured from the waist down, but you end up looking people in the eye while you're trying. There is nothing that stops the flow quicker than someone staring you in the face. Anyway, someone started shouting, 'Oh, it's him. It's him. It's that bloke. You're not funny. You're the one with the lisp on that show.' You know, loads of abuse. I'm standing there thinking, can you all just shut up for five seconds so I can wee? Eventually I left without peeing. Me and the kids absolutely love The Mandalorian – looking back now, that's the moment to be a Mandalorian, in your helmet. No one would ever be rude to a Mandalorian. He'd wipe the floor with you, while he's having a wee. Do you ever get called Jonathan Creek? Oh God, yeah. 'Jonathaaan!' I've also been called Jonathan Ross. Wrong Jonathan – and I'm not even Jonathan! Nowadays people think I'm James May from Top Gear. I get that a lot. I was on a train and I saw a kid coming up from about three carriages away, looking at me the whole way. He stood right in front of me and said, 'Oh no, that's not James May.' And he turned around and went away! Once, when I was a teenager, someone – very generously – compared me to James Dean. I don't look like James Dean, obviously, but I liked the comparison! But to go from James Dean to James May is a terrible, crashing descent. No disrespect to James May, but he's not James Dean. Also, James Dean died in a car crash and James May has been driving like a lunatic for 30 years. Life is unfair. What is the best piece of advice you have received? 'Enjoy yourself.' It was said to me by a Canadian comedian called Mike Wilmot, who is a gnarled and grizzly old guy and a very funny, quite dark comedian. I was coming back to standup in 2011 after 10 years away. I'd become very recognisable from television and I missed standup, but comedy clubs were sometimes very tricky for me. It upset me, because it's the thing I love to do the most. So I got some stuff together and went to try some new material at a night in London. I was waiting to go on and I was obviously giving off trepidation and fear, so Mike Wilmot came up to me and said, [gravelly voice] 'Hey. Enjoy yourself up there.' Honestly, I remember that before every single gig I do now. Do you get hecklers? Not really. I actually try to encourage it because, when you're touring, you want to find out a little bit about the place you're in. I remember doing a show in Blackburn in Lancashire. I said, 'What's Blackburn like? What's the absolute shithole of the area?' And they all went, 'Burnley!' They hated Burnley, which is about 20 miles away. So I went, 'Is anyone in from Burnley?' And a load of people went, [cheerfully] 'Yeah!' The people from Burnley said they refer to Blackburn as just 'Bastard' – they won't even say the name of the town! I like a bit of interaction with the audience. The best heckle I ever had was when I was younger. I used to wear these lime-green moleskin trousers and someone shouted, 'Are you colour blind?' The audience all laughed and it took me a couple of minutes to get them back. If you really want to upset a comedian, heckle them about their appearance. What has been your most cringeworthy run-in with a celebrity? I was lucky enough to meet and work with Bob Monkhouse, the famous comedian and TV host. When he met new people, he would put his hand out with a big smile on his face, and he'd say, [reassuringly] 'Bob Monkhouse.' Which I think just put people at ease, because everyone knew it was Bob Monkhouse. So I thought, 'Oh, that's really good, I'm going to do that.' So one time I met Kriss Akabusi, who was this Olympic medallist who has a very effervescent personality – he was popular and had a television career after his hurdling career ended. When I met him, I put out my hand, and I said, [reassuringly] 'Alan Davies.' And he said, 'Nice to meet you, Dave.' He had no idea who I was. I'm not Bob Monkhouse. Some people know who I am. Some people think I'm called Jonathan. But Kriss Akabusi had no idea who I was and to this day I cringe about it. Why did I do it? I'd be better off saying, 'Bob Monkhouse.' He's such a nice bloke, Kriss Akabusi, but he thinks I'm called Dave to this day – we never met again. Are you able to wheel out facts you learned from being on QI? I only have one fact that has stayed in my brain, because I can't remember anything. Multiple times on the show I've said, 'I don't know how I know this but … ' and they go, 'You know this because we did it in series G!!!' This is the fact: when the Vikings left Scandinavia in their longboats and went looking for land, they took ravens with them. They would release a raven and it would fly incredibly high – and, if it saw land, it would fly towards it. So you follow the raven, right? If it doesn't see land, it comes back to the boat because they can't land on water. That's the only fact I can remember and I've been doing QI for 23 years. What is the strangest thing you've done for love? Katie, my now wife, and I were in Germany. We'd been on a boat on Lake Starnberg, which is south of Munich. Beautiful place, you can see the mountains of Austria and so on. But we couldn't see anything that day because there was an absolutely terrifying electrical storm. We thought we were all going to die. So we got off the boat at this little place called Tutzing. There was a guy who ran a kiosk on the jetty there and it was really raining, so we're hiding under his awning and he said [in a German accent] 'You want a beer?' So we did. Then he went 'You want some snuff?' I've never had snuff in my life but I said OK. So he gave me this menthol snuff – it was like chewing gum for the brain! And about two minutes later I proposed to Katie. So the strangest thing I've done which resulted in love was snuff. We've been married for 18 years – worked out all right. Alan Davies is touring his new show Think Ahead across Australia in November and December
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fox News Sets Sights on Latest Enemy: Kermit the Frog
Fox News has taken aim at a tough new political opponent—Kermit the Frog. The prominent Muppet gave a commencement speech at the University of Maryland on Thursday, chosen to honor his creator, Jim Henson. An economics major, Henson graduated from Maryland in 1960 and died in 1990. 'As you prepare to take this big leap into real life, here's a little advice—if you're willing to listen to a frog,' the upbeat and persistently kind felt character told students. 'Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want, consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side, because life is better when we leap together.' Kermit's appearance drew the ire of conservative commentator and podcast host Riley Gaines during an appearance on a Hannity Special on Friday night. 'It's unserious, it's out of touch, and frankly, it's insulting,' Gaines raged. 'Instead of honoring entrepreneurs or veterans or innovators, they picked Kermit the Frog.' Kermit was created in 1955 and became the star of The Muppets franchise, alongside Miss Piggy. Fox News did not see the funny side. 'Imagine being a 22-year-old student, who's graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering, and a frog from The Muppets is telling you to stay connected with your people,' Riley told host Jason Chaffetz. 'We have students who are drowning in debt, who are struggling to find jobs, and universities are handing the mic to puppets.' Henson, who went on to assist in the creation of Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and worked with stars including George Lucas and David Bowie, is commemorated at Maryland. A statue of him sitting on a bench alongside his beloved creation Kermit is a popular attraction at the university's Campus Park. Most accounts suggest the commencement speech, which ran for around 15 minutes, was well received by the graduating students. Riley, however, took the opportunity to paint the stunt as an example of 'woke' university failures. 'I see this as the same institutions who have been pushing political agendas and cancel culture now want to use a puppet to inspire students,' she said. Incredibly, this is not the first time that Fox has gone to war with The Muppets. In 2012, Fox Business attacked the perceived political agenda of their latest film, prompting the social media hashtag #GOPMuppetHearings. 'It's almost as laughable as accusing Fox News as, you know, being news,' Miss Piggy quipped in response to the accusations. 'If they take what I say seriously, they got a real big problem.' The Muppets are not the only cultural icons to have found themselves the target of Fox News. The organization has previously gone after Bud Light, Lego and Jaguar cars for embracing stances they consider woke.
