Watch Oprah, Malala Yousafzai, and other icons give speeches at John Krasinski’s virtual graduation

Update, May 4th, 2020, 10:46 a.m. ET: Congratulations to the class of 2020! John Krasinski already hosted a virtual prom, and he capped off Senior Week with a star-studded virtual graduation. As much as we would have loved everyone to get to have their regularly scheduled ceremonies, getting Oprah, Malala, and other icons as speakers is a pretty solid substitute.

On the sixth episode of Krasinski’s Some Good News YouTube show, he held a virtual graduation. It started with fan-submitted photos and videos of high school and college seniors (and kindergarteners) in their caps and gowns. Krasinski—also dressed in graduation attire—then introduced his speakers. It began with videos of actual graduates giving their addresses that they wouldn’t be able to give in person to their classmates. But because this is no ordinary 2020 graduation, he then introduced the stars. Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Malala Yousafzai, and Jon Stewart surprised graduates with advice and words of encouragement.

Watch Krasinski’s entire virtual graduation ceremony below:

Congratulations to all the graduates!

Original post, April 30th, 2020: First, he threw a prom. Now, it’s time for the next big milestone. On April 28th, John Krasinski announced that his Some Good News YouTube channel would be throwing a virtual graduation for all of the 2020 graduates who are missing their big day due to COVID-19.

“Alright, that’s it, enough is enough,” the actor tweeted. “All you graduates of 2020? After all those long hours you’ve put in. All the hard work you’ve put in…. you’re gettin a graduation! And that’s all there is to it!”

“This week! I’m there with tassels on!” Krasinski wrote, adding the hashtag #SGNGraduation.

The Some Good News Twitter account then posted an invitation for all the graduates—literally, all the graduates, as this is virtual. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 3rd.

Currently, Krasinski is doing some serious planning, looking for valedictorians and commencement address speakers, and crowdsourcing questions for the special guests. He’s also answering a lot of questions people have been asking about the event. Graduates can submit their own speeches, performances, recitals, or anything they’ll be missing out on due to canceled ceremonies. Just tag #SGNGraduation on Instagram or Twitter.

If you’re wondering, yes, it’s for any graduate—fifth grade, eighth grade, high school, college, grad school, you name it.

Also, it’s not limited to graduates in the U.S. (In fact, it’s technically not even limited to graduates, because this is all being done on a public YouTube channel.)

Krasinski started Some Good News at the end of March as a way to share positive news during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, he’s already hosted a live-streamed prom, which took place on April 17th. The event featured guests including Chance the Rapper, Billie Eilish, the Jonas Brothers, and Dwight Schrute himself, Rainn Wilson. So, don’t be surprised if some more familiar faces pop up at graduation, too.

Other Some Good News episodes have included an interview with his former Office co-star Steve Carell, a message from astronauts at the International Space Station, and a reunion of the Hamilton cast.

There’s not yet a streaming video set up for the graduation, but you can check back for updates on Krasinki’s Twitter or on the Some Good News YouTube channel. For now, all the graduates out there should just get to work on DIY-ing some graduation caps. It’s almost time to toss them.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, HelloGiggles is committed to providing accurate and helpful coverage to our readers. As such, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage you to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments, and visit our coronavirus hub.

Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more