Class of 2020 to get a virtual commencement address from Oprah Winfrey on Facebook


The class of 2020 may not get the commencement they were hoping for this year, but at least they'll get Oprah.
Facebook on Tuesday announced it will stream a star-studded virtual graduation ceremony for seniors who are "commencing at a time of great uncertainty" amid the coronavirus pandemic and won't get to have "the day they might have imagined." Winfrey will deliver a commencement address at "#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020," and the event will also feature Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X, and Simone Biles sharing "words of wisdom," as well as Miley Cyrus performing "The Climb."
Facebook said the event, which will stream on Facebook Watch, will "acknowledge high schools and colleges in the U.S. by name, state by state, including photos and videos of the class of 2020 and messages from deans and principals across the country." This comes after John Krasinski similarly held a virtual prom for high school seniors who had theirs canceled during the pandemic; his YouTube event featured Billie Eilish and the Jonas Brothers among others.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Facebook's virtual graduation is set for May 15.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestone
Speed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two years
Speed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on X
Speed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'
Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers