Jimmy Fallon surprises Parkland students at graduation ceremony

US talk show host Jimmy Fallon surprised students graduating from MS Douglas High School and thanked them for their gun reform activism.

Jimmy Fallon (second to the left) with the MS Douglas High School class of 2018.

Jimmy Fallon (second to the left) with the MS Douglas High School class of 2018. Source: Twitter: @BCPSChiefOSPA

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon turned up at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's graduation ceremony Sunday, where he gave the commencement address and thanked the students for their activism after the shooting that killed 17 at the Parkland, Florida, school.

While the proceedings were solemn overall, particularly at moments remembering the victims, Fallon brought some levity to the ceremony as well, and encouraged the students to celebrate their achievements.

"You won't be classmates anymore. You'll be adults who Facebook search each other at two in the morning for the next 10 years," he joked.

Fallon pointed out that he met several members of the class of 2018 at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington DC this past spring. Several seniors at Marjory Stoneman have become activists agitating for gun control reform and made headlines for their work, including the school's LGBT club president, Emma Gonzalez.

Fallon also posted a message to Twitter congratulating the class.

The ceremony took place at the Florida Panthers hockey team's home venue, BB&T Center. The families of the four seniors who were killed in the shooting - Nicholas Dworet, Joaquin Oliver, Carmen Schentrup, and Meadow Pollack - accepted diplomas in their stead, and the graduates wore sashes that read "MSD Strong."


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