Kermit the Frog gives commencement speech at University of Maryland
apnews.com
apnews.com
This link is just Kermit's speech:
Find Your People
Is this considered a special event because the muppet that appeared has played Kermit in an official capacity? Because he's voiced by Jim Henson? (Unlikely, since he's dead.) Because he's voiced by Matt Vogel? (If so, who would care?) Because he looks and sounds like Kermit the Frog?
Speeches are usually given by people who are felt to have interesting things to say, which for Kermit would mean whatever scriptwriter(s) are credited for the wisdom that made Kermit an attractive choice. Does anyone know who they are? Were they commissioned for this?
> The speech — written and spoken by puppeteer Matt Vogel, who has performed Kermit since 2017
It's considered special because of the historical connection between Kermit, Jim Henson and the University of Maryland.
Why do you think the graduating students had no idea of what was going on?
Kermit/Vogel was also part of the 2024-25 Arts & Humanities Dean's Lecture Series Featuring Kermit the Frog in September, https://calendar.umd.edu/2024-25-arts-humanities-deans-lectu... , making these two visits symbolically bookends for the academic year.
I don't; I think I had no idea what was going on after reading the entire "article", which makes me question the writing of the article.
Does Matt Vogel normally write Kermit's lines? Did he write anything that people admire about Kermit?
If you don't like the article - which didn't cost you anything - find another article.
Does Stephen Colbert normally write Stephen Colbert's lines?
No, he doesn't. So why was this speech written by Matt Vogel?
Colbert gave a commencement speech. (He even wondered if he was the one invited, or his eponymous character was the one invited.)
Since others normally write his lines, do you grouse that you don't know who wrote Colbert's commencement speech?
If you think he wrote it, do you wonder why he wrote his own speech instead of his writers?
Which is why your question "Does Matt Vogel normally write Kermit's lines?" makes it sound like you just want an argument.
> If you think he wrote it, do you wonder why he wrote his own speech instead of his writers?
No, I think Stephen Colbert is viewed as an interesting person whose life many people would like to emulate. Which would mean the answer to "who got invited" was the actor and not the character.
But none of that applies to Kermit the Frog; he's not even alive. I don't think Matt Vogel is seen that way.
Here, it appears that the character was invited, but without the ability to speak. How does that make sense?