Pritzker gives ‘Office’-themed graduation speech, offends everyone
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made headlines last week after giving an ‘Office’-themed graduation speech to a Northwestern University crowd that included none other than Michael Scott himself, comedian and actor Steve Carell.
The Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day star and his wife Nancy, who came dressed as a cheerleader, were there celebrating their daughter, who was reportedly thrilled that her classmates kept turning to look at her every time the governor quoted her father’s most famous character.
When asked why they had opted for a speech from Pritzker instead of Carell, a representative of the university pointed to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that launched the career of world-renowned comedian Barack Obama.
“J.B. and The Rock have a lot in common,” she explained, kicking things off with what would turn out to be the least offensive statement of the day. “They’re the kind of guys you’d want to have a 1982 Château Latour with.”
During his set, Pritzker repeatedly quoted the 37-time Emmy-losing sitcom (source), drawing heavily from two episodes in particular, “Diversity Day” and “A Benihana Christmas,” in what many are calling “the most offensive speech by a politician since Richard Nixon’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s inspired State of the Union.”
Pritzker, egged on by members of the school’s fraternities and imbued with a confidence only a billion dollars could buy, finished his remarks amidst a chorus of boos, his staffers already scrambling to cancel his next day speaking engagement at Mel Gibson’s alma mater.
