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Indian-American Megha Vemuri faces vicious trolling after pro-Palestine MIT speech, deactivates LinkedIn profile

Without naming Megha Vemuri, MIT issued a statement about the pro-Palestine speech, informing that the student was banned from the ceremony.

Updated on: May 31, 2025, 11:12:15 IST
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Megha Vemuri, an American student of Indian origin and President of the Class of 2025 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is receiving severe backlash on social media following her pro-Palestine speech at her graduation ceremony.

Megha Vemuri at MIT graduation ceremony giving a pro-Palestine speech. (Screengrab (X))
Megha Vemuri at MIT graduation ceremony giving a pro-Palestine speech. (Screengrab (X))

Among those who trolled her is Ouriel Ohayon, an Israeli CEO of a company dealing with Crypto. He dropped a strongly worded X post slamming Vemuri for denouncing MIT’s ties with Israel and calling for solidarity with Palestine.

“Make that b*tch famous. May she never find any career path and be humiliated for what she just did and did before that. Ps: Megha if you really want to sound cool, work on your ‘rrrrrhaazzzza’ accent,” Ohayon wrote. He further shared a link to Vemuri's LinkedIn profile, which has been deactivated.

Social media slams Megha Vemuri:

An individual remarked, “They should have pulled her off the stage and begun deportation proceedings on the spot.” Another added, “This attention hungry lady did all for applause and attention. If she is so anguished and in pain, she should go to Gaza and help those people to relieve them of their suffering. Blight for natives.”

A third joined, “What she said is just unacceptable.” A fourth wrote, “You don’t have to call her names. Trust me, her views are not reflections of Indians at large in the US or India. She is one of those woke types. We are equally pissed at her..”

What did Megha Vemuri say in her speech?

“The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with, this means that Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school,” Vemuri said as a part of her speech.

Also Read: ‘Go back to India’: Indian students in Quebec face harsh backlash over French exam protest

According to a report by NBC News, MIT said that the student's speech at the graduation ceremony was not the one she had previously given to the university and that she had been banned from the ceremony.

"While that individual had a scheduled role at today’s Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, she was notified that she would not be permitted at today’s events," said university spokesperson Kimberly Allen.

“MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organizers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony,” Allen added.

  • Trisha Sengupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Trisha Sengupta

    Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More

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