The Class of 2025 Class Day chairs announced that Jay Shetty — a bestselling author, podcast host, and life coach — will be the 2025 Class Day Speaker on Tuesday. In a video message announcing their pick, the Class Day chairs highlighted Shetty’s emphasis on “community, mental health and meaningful relationships.”
Class Day takes place the day before Princeton’s Commencement and consists of student remarks, distribution of awards, and a speech by an invited guest.
Past speakers have included Anthony Fauci (2022), Trevor Noah (2021), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) (2018).
The Class Day Committee — Venezia Garza ’25, Gil Joseph ’25, Kelly Park ’25, Ben Wachspress ’25 — described a careful and value-driven approach to their selection.
“From our very first meeting last April, we just brought in a list of values we wanted our speaker to embody,” Park said. “We didn’t come with the list of speakers we wanted — we came in with the values first.”
The committee aligned around Shetty’s focus on mental wellness and meaningful living, which they felt would resonate with a class graduating during a time of heightened global uncertainty.
“He was super excited about the opportunity to come and speak at Princeton,” Joseph said about Shetty. “We wanted someone who was as excited about Princeton as we were about them.”
The decision was finalized in December, and committee members said they kept the news under wraps for months.
According to the committee members, many seniors expressed excitement after the announcement. “I think a lot of our peers were really excited,” Garza noted. Similarly, Wachspress noted that he has had positive interactions with peers following the announcement.
“It was really nice to hear that people had already come across this content in one way or another,” Park added, referring to Shetty’s large following on “multiple platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify.”
However, not everyone was impressed. The Daily Princetonian spoke with multiple members of the Class of 2025, some expressing disappointment regarding the announcement.
“My initial reaction was that I had never heard of him before,” Sydney Cha ’25 said. “I was under the impression that the Class Day speaker is usually more well-known than the Baccalaureate speaker. I’m thrilled to hear from Jerome Powell, but this felt like a bit of a letdown.”
Charlie Multerer ’25 echoed similar sentiments: “Sure, Jay Shetty has some fame as a wellness influencer, but I think our class could benefit more from someone with more relatable life experiences … I also can’t ignore the allegations that he’s plagiarized or embellished parts of his life story.”
In 2019, Shetty took down more than 100 YouTube and Instagram videos after a YouTuber named Nicole Arbour located the sources of several parables that he posted without attribution. Since then, Shetty credits Instagram accounts that he pulls content from in his posts, though several creators shared with The Guardian that they did not grant Shetty permission or receive payment for his reposting of their content.
In February 2024, John McDermott wrote in The Guardian that Shetty has changed his age in different retellings of his spiritual awakening encounter with the monk, telling various news outlets it occurred at ages 18, 21, and 22. Shetty’s legal team stated that it occurred in 2007, when he was either 19 or 20. McDermott also found other inconsistencies in Shetty’s stories.
“Why did we invite a life coach who orchestrated a multi-level marketing scam against students?” Nicholas Urbati ’25 said.
According to multi-level marketing (MLM) expert William Keep, quoted in the Guardian article, while the Jay Shetty Certification School (Shetty’s life-coaching program for master’s degree students) isn’t an MLM, it shares key traits, like high fees.
Izabela Konopka ’25 also expressed disappointment with the choice, citing concerns over past controversies. “I wasn’t familiar with Jay Shetty at first, and once I looked into him, the controversy around his coaching school really soured my opinion,” she said. “I’m not sure he reflects the values I’d want represented at Class Day.”
Jenna Elliott ’25, who previously wrote to the ‘Prince’ that she hoped for a “name that we recognize” and a speaker who would share “guiding words and wisdom,” shared a more nuanced view following the announcement.
“I didn’t have any particular expectations … but given that so much of [Shetty’s] identity revolves around self-discovery and growth, he seems to fit the tone of graduation.”
Elliott is a former assistant Data editor for the ‘Prince’
Committee members said they were aware that the pick wouldn’t be someone universally known by the class. “It’s okay to have people who do not know some celebrities,” Joseph said, emphasizing that he didn’t know who Cory Booker was until last year.
“We thought that the meaning and the substance of the speech should precede celebrity status and we think that we’ve achieved that balance with Jay Shetty,” he continued. He also urged people “to come to the speech and hear Jay Shetty talk and see if they change their mind afterwards.”
Born and raised in London, Shetty grew up in an Indian household. From an early age, he developed an interest in what constitutes success and how people can aspire to lives of fulfillment, particularly influenced by a “remarkable turn” after listening to a monk speak. Inspired by the experience, he spent vacations living and learning with monks.
He launched “On Purpose” in 2019, which became an award-winning, leading podcast focused on mental health. Shetty has brought in numerous celebrities and world leaders as guests, such as Michelle Obama ’85, Oprah Winfrey, Former President Joe Biden, and Kim Kardashian.
Shetty has also published two bestselling books, including “Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Everyday” in 2020 and “8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go” in 2023.
Shetty will address the Class of 2025 on Cannon Green during the Class Day Ceremony on Monday, May 26.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif.
Thomas Catalano is an associate News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Los Angeles, Calif. and typically covers University administration.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: A previous version of this article referenced McDermott’s first name as James. In fact, it is John. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.
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