Man blasted for 'hijacking' girlfriend's graduation with marriage proposal
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said “yes” — but the critics say “no.”
One man has been accused of “hijacking” his longtime girlfriend’s graduation ceremony by popping the question moments after she received her diploma. Video footage of the proposal has rubbed many the wrong way, with some even blasting the future groom as a “pathetic manchild” for stealing his partner’s thunder during the major milestone.
Despite intense public backlash, the bride-to-be insists that the “amazing” proposal made her special graduation day “even more beautiful.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Graduate Agne Banuskeviciute was all smiles as she recently received her Master’s degree in English language and applied linguistics from the University of Essex in England, before a packed auditorium of classmates, faculty and loved ones — though she had no idea a surprise awaited.
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Accepting her diploma from a school official at the front of the room, her boyfriend Edgaras Averbuchas soon appeared — dramatically dropping to one knee and asking for her hand in marriage, The Telegraph reports.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Edgaras Averbuchas, pictured, recently proposed to girlfriend Agne Banuskeviciute during her graduation ceremony from the University of Essex in England. (Triangle News)
Surrounded by thunderous applause and cheers, 25-year-old Banuskeviciute said “yes” to her 27-year-old beau.
In the days since, however, outraged commenters have slammed Averbuchas as selfish and rude for proposing to his girlfriend of nine years during the academic event.
“Imagine being a man and feeling so threatened by a woman's intellectual success that you have to force her to frame her identity/agency in relation to you on the very day she is being celebrated for her intellect,” Dr. Jana Bacevic of the University of Cambridge tweeted in a post that has since been liked over 800 times.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This does not bode well for the relationship,” Aisha Ali-Khan, an organizer for the Women's March in London, told the Telegraph in agreement. "When someone craves such public attention and adulation all the time, there can only be space for one person and their ego in that relationship."
Though reps for the public research university in the U.K. deleted the video of the proposal from their Twitter page after intense outcry, as per The Sun, the school didn’t move quickly enough to escape the wrath of outraged commenters.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Blimey. That was her moment. And he couldn’t stand it. Had to make it about him,” one user sneered. “Pathetic manchild. I hope she reconsiders when she sees the video.”
“Public proposals always give me the creeps.... it's controlling behavior that doesn't bode well...,” another agreed.
“This is gross and I am really shocked that University of Essex thought it appropriate to tweet,” one echoed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Others, meanwhile, didn’t find the stunt to be quite so offensive.
“Without knowing the people involved, I guess I don't feel like it's any of our right to judge it,” a fan countered.
Officials for the university responded to the controversy in a July 23 statement, claiming that Banuskeviciute was in fact “really pleased” with the graduation-day proposal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I think that this day became even more beautiful with this proposal,” the graduate said. “I remember myself standing on the stage. I was a little bit nervous, but extremely happy."
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“Then, all of a sudden I saw Edgaras coming, but everything happened so quickly that it took me some time to understand what actually happened,” Banuskeviciute continued. “Everyone cheered and it was an amazing proposal which truly took me by surprise.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The couple met as teenagers in their hometown of Vilnius, Lithuania, the Telegraph reports, and have been together for nearly a decade.
When contacted for comment, reps for the University of Essex declined to offer Fox News additional information on the story.
In similar headlines, a man was mercilessly mocked for proposing to his girlfriend running the New York City Marathon — in the middle of the November 2018 race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“He couldn't propose to her at the finish line?” one commenter wondered.