Video of Larry Summers beginning his class by expressing shame over his past involvement with Jeffrey Epstein goes viral

Following his apology statement over his email interactions with Jeffrey Epstein that were brought to light last week, Larry Summers started his first class at Harvard by a short speech expressing his shame. In a video that was likely taken by a student from his class, Summers was heard saying:

"Some of you may have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein, and that I've said that I'm gonna step back from public activities for a while. But I think it's very important to fulfill my teaching obligations. And so, with your permission, I'm gonna... we're gonna go forward and talk about the material in the class."

The clip has since been going viral on X, with netizens reacting to it. Here are some of the comments posted on it:

"Funny how the apologies only start after they're abou to get exposed." - commented an X user.

"Students came for economics and got a TED talk on regret" - added another.

"has gotta at least share some stories before he leaves for good" - wrote a third one.

"Starting with a confession like this must have set the tone for the entire class." - remarked a fourth user.

"Why is he still teaching ?" - questioned a fifth one.

Larry Summers, who took accountability for his "misguided decision to continue communicating" with the disgraced financier after his conviction, had also served as the president of Harvard University, before having to step down in 2006. 

Since then, he has been working as a professor at the institution. His wife, Elisa New, is also a professor of Ameircan Literature at the university. 

​Larry Summers' ties with The New York Times have been severed 

While Larry Summers has himself decided to step away from all public commitments in light of the release of his email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein, it's apparently not enough punishment.

The New York Times, where Summers was a contributing writer, is also severing their ties with the professor. On Tuesday, November 18, the executive director of the New York Times, Charlie Stadtlander, issued a statement about their decision, saying:

"Lawrence Summers was a contributing writer for New York Times Opinion on a one-year contract beginning in January 2025. We do not intend to renew this contract. We thank him for his contributions."

The news outlet isn't the only organization to disassociate themselves from Summers. The professor was also a senior fellow of Center for American Progress (CAP), which issued this statement on Monday evening:

"Larry Summers has announced that he is stepping away from public commitments immediately, and this includes ending his fellowship at CAP."

There have also been calls for the dismissal of Larry Summers' professorship at Harvard. Whether or not it will come to fruition remains to be seen.