Jerry Seinfeld Apologizes for Bee Movie’s ‘Sexual Undertones’ in Commencement Speech

Jerry Seinfeld has some apologies to supply, almost 20 years after the discharge of Bee Movie.

On Sunday, May 12, the Seinfeld alum, 70, gave a graduation deal with to the graduating seniors at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina — the place his son Julian at the moment attends and his daughter Sascha beforehand graduated from.

During his speech, the comic took time to replicate on his 2007 animated movie Bee Movie — particularly one controversial factor of the storyline.

“I made a cartoon film about bees you will have watched as a baby,” Seinfeld stated in a video captured by an attendee and shared on TikTok.

“If any of you felt barely uncomfortable concerning the sexual undertones within the relationship between Barry B. Benson and Vanessa, the florist who saves his life, I wish to apologize for that now,” he continued, incomes laughs from the group. “I’ll not have calibrated that completely.”

Fans of the DreamWorks youngsters’ film have beforehand made long-running jokes concerning the romantic stress between Seinfeld’s character within the movie, Barry (a bee), and Renée Zellweger‘s character, Vanessa (a human). Back in October 2021, Seinfeld addressed the identical challenge throughout an look on The Tonight Show, apologizing as soon as once more for the innuendo.

“I apologize for what appears to be a sure uncomfortable refined sexual facet of the Bee Movie,” he stated on the time. “[It] actually was not intentional, however after it got here out, I noticed that is actually not acceptable for youngsters. Because the bee appears to have a factor for the woman, and we don’t actually need to pursue that as an thought in kids’s leisure.”

Seinfeld’s graduation speech at Duke additionally drew public consideration when anti-war protesters walked out of the ceremony and booed from the viewers when the TV star took the rostrum, in response to NBC News and CBS News.

Seinfeld has been making a slew of public appearances in latest weeks in assist of his latest film, Unfrosted, which marks his feature-film directorial debut. Speaking with PEOPLE on the premiere of the film on April 30, Seinfeld opened up about taking over the position of director for the primary time in his profession.

“You do not need to take into consideration that this can be a actually massive, vital job. Like, the pilot by no means needs to come back on the PA system and go, ‘I’m going to try to get this aircraft within the air.’ You must be assured,” he stated.

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Seinfeld beforehand instructed PEOPLE that he has “been obsessive about Pop-Tarts my entire life,” which is what impressed him to tackle the film.

“My buddy Spike Feresten, who was a author on my present and continues to be a great buddy of mine, thought we should always make a film out of the story, the actual story, which we did,” he defined.

Unfrosted — which includes a star-studded solid together with Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant and extra — is ready in 1963 Battle Creek, Mich., when “Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that may change the face of breakfast without end,” in response to a synopsis.