--- title: Jimmy Kimmel Let Silenced Valedictorian Finish His Speech description: Jimmy Kimmel let the valedictorian whose mic was cut off give his full speech on Jimmy Kimmel Live! canonical: https://time.com/4826393/jimmy-kimmel-valedictorian-speech/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-21T13:28:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:52.378Z og:title: Jimmy Kimmel Let the Silenced Valedictorian Finish His Speech og:description: "Whoever cut that mic off should not be in charge of education of any kind." og:url: https://time.com/4826393/jimmy-kimmel-valedictorian-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltccb547610061b42a/6988d28d0a4a22608b9ceb71/senior.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senior og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jimmy Kimmel Let the Silenced Valedictorian Finish His Speech twitter:description: "Whoever cut that mic off should not be in charge of education of any kind." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltccb547610061b42a/6988d28d0a4a22608b9ceb71/senior.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jimmy Kimmel Let the Silenced Valedictorian Finish His Speech ## Video: Jimmy Kimmel Tearfully Reveals Newborn Son Billy Underwent Open Heart Surgery [Watch (HLS stream): Jimmy Kimmel Tearfully Reveals Newborn Son Billy Underwent Open Heart Surgery](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EffWXk7I.m3u8) (2:29)  _Published 2017-05-02. Jimmy revealed that his newborn son had successfully undergone the life-threatening operation_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jun 21, 2017 1:28 PM UTC  by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jun 21, 2017 1:28 PM UTC A high school [valedictorian](http://time.com/money/4779223/valedictorian-success-research-barking-up-wrong/) whose graduation speech was abruptly cut off got national media attention this week, but on Tuesday night he enjoyed a much bigger platform: [_Jimmy Kimmel Live!_](http://time.com/4824961/jimmy-kimmel-fathers-day-2017-youtube-challenge/) Before the late night host gave Peter Butera some key airtime via Skype on Tuesday’s episode, he played a clip showing the [Penn](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/06/20/a-valedictorian-went-rogue-in-his-final-speech-his-school-tried-to-shut-him-down/?utm%5Fterm=.e05177917be8) senior class president criticizing the school when faculty shut down his microphone and escorted him offstage on Friday. “Whoever cut that mic off should not be in charge of education of any kind,” Kimmel said before chatting with the Villanova-bound student. “Why were they so mad at you for that Peter?” Kimmel asked him. “I went off script,” he said, explaining he went rogue with remarks he didn’t clear with the school because he felt they wouldn’t let him say them. Kimmel joked that his comments had only amounted to a 2-star Yelp review, before handing it over to the student who made his final remarks to the delight of the audience. 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