{"id":97758,"date":"2024-05-16T18:09:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/16\/stars-react-to-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech\/"},"modified":"2024-05-16T18:09:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:09:48","slug":"stars-react-to-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/16\/stars-react-to-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Stars React to Harrison Butker\u2019s Controversial Commencement Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Maren Morris, Harrison Butker.<\/span> Getty Images(2)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker<\/strong><\/a> sparked controversy after making comments about gender roles and the LGBTQIA+ community during a graduation speech.<\/p>\n

Butker, 28, served as the commencement speaker for Benedictine College\u2019s graduating class in Atchison, Kansas on Saturday, May 11. During his remarks<\/a>, the athlete singled out the women graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butker then said that while \u201csome\u201d of the women in the audience \u201cmay go on to lead successful careers in the world,\u201d he \u201cwould venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison claimed that his wife, Isabelle Butker<\/strong>, would be the \u201cfirst to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.\u201d He added that \u201chomemaker\u201d is \u201cone of the most important titles of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker and Wife Isabelle’s Relationship Timeline<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tKansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker found his No. 1 cheerleader in wife Isabelle Butker, whom he wed in 2018. \u201cWe met in high school,\u201d Harrison said of his spouse during a January 2023 appearance on the \u201cKansas City Mom Collective\u201d podcast. \u201cA lot changes with Division I football, playing in the NFL, but she\u2019s [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The football player also took aim at the LGBTQ+ community and Pride month, praising \u201cthe true God-centered pride that is cooperation with the Holy Ghost to glorify him\u201d rather than \u201cthe deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s eyebrow-raising comments have prompted stars including Maren Morris<\/strong> to speak out against him. Keep scrolling to see all the celebrity reactions:\n<\/p>\n

Maren Morris<\/h3>\n
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\"Maren<\/div>
Taylor Hill\/WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The singer invoked a popular social trend when sharing a clip of Harrison\u2019s speech via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, May 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cI choose the bear,\u201d she wrote, referring to a trend where women state whether they would rather encounter a bear or a man alone in the woods.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Maren Morris\u2019 Fiercest Social Media Clapbacks<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tStanding her ground. Maren Morris is no stranger to receiving online criticism about her appearance, her parenting skills or even her career, but she\u2019s not letting that get her down. \u201cIf it\u2019s confusing to you, it\u2019s because you think we\u2019re \u2018fighting\u2019 over politics. We\u2019re not. This isn\u2019t political,\u201d the \u201cMiddle\u201d songstress tweeted in August 2022, [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Flavor Flav<\/h3>\n

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\"Maren<\/div>
Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/h3>\n

\u201cSounds like some players \u2018need to stay in their lanes\u2019 and shouldn\u2019t be giving commencement speeches,\u201d the rapper wrote via X<\/a> on Tuesday, May 14.<\/p>\n

The tweet referenced a specific moment from Harrison\u2019s address.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never envisioned myself nor wanted to have this sort of a platform, but God has given it to me so I have no other choice but to embrace it and preach more hard truths about accepting your lane and staying in it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Justice Horn<\/h3>\n

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\"Maren<\/div>
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The former Kansas City commissioner, who was Chair of Kansas City\u2019s LGBTQ Commission from 2021 until 2024, took to X<\/a> on May 14 to address the Chiefs player\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarrison Butker doesn\u2019t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members. \ud83c\udf08,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Biggest NFL Controversies Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tFlag on the play. From Tom Brady\u2019s Deflategate to Colin Kaepernick\u2019s national anthem protests, the NFL has been at the center of several controversies through the years. In 2016, Kaepernick sparked debates among both fans and fellow players when he didn\u2019t stand for the national anthem before taking the field with the San Francisco 49ers. [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In a subsequent tweet<\/a>, Horn commented on Harrison\u2019s advice to the male graduates to \u201cbe unapologetic in your masculinity\u201d and \u201cdo hard things\u201d without settling for the easy path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can speak on this because I have two 6A MSHAA Football Championship rings here in Missouri, but being the kicker for a football team isn\u2019t exactly the \u2018toughest\u2019 position out there,\u201d Horn wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s going on about masculinity while being a player that can\u2019t be touched \u2014 it\u2019s funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon Watts<\/h3>\n

The gun violence prevention activist, who cofounded Everytown for Gun Safety, criticized Harrison for neglecting to mention the shooting that occurred at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cKansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker\u2019s speech at Benedictine College railed against abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, LGBTQ+, and liberated women, but it didn\u2019t mention the gun violence that killed a fan at the Super Bowl parade,\u201d Watts wrote via X <\/a>on May 15. \u201cGun extremism is part of this religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathan Beane<\/h3>\n

The NFL\u2019s Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion officer reacted via a written statement to People<\/em><\/a> on May 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,\u201d Beane said. \u201cHis views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Guerrero<\/h3>\n

\u201cHey @NFL \u2013 If you want to continue to grow your female fan base and any other marginalized group (straight white men are already watching your product), come get your boy,\u201d the journalist and former sportscaster wrote via X<\/a> on May 14 alongside an article about Harrison\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager<\/h3>\n

\u201cWho is [Harrison] to tell us?\u201d Bush Hager asked during Today With Hoda & Jenna<\/em> on May 16. Kotb added, \u201cDon\u2019t speak for us. I think that\u2019s kind of the thing. Stop speaking for women out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>All the Fallout From Harrison Butker’s Controversial Graduation Speech<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tKansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is facing backlash after his controversial graduation speech. Butker, 28, was the commencement speaker at Benedictine College on Saturday, May 11. The athlete first raised eyebrows when he addressed the women graduates to invoke stereotypical gender roles. \u201cI want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Bush Hager went on to say that her husband, Henry Hager<\/strong>, treats her like an \u201cequal partner\u201d<\/a> in their relationship. The cohosts also praised stay-at-home parents as well, noting, \u201cThe work they do is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whoopi Goldberg<\/h3>\n

The View<\/em> host defended Butker<\/a>, comparing him to Colin Kaepernick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, I like when people say what they need to say,\u201d she said on May 16. \u201cHe\u2019s at a Catholic college, he\u2019s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he\u2019s welcome to them. I don\u2019t have to believe them. I don\u2019t have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cThe same way we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria Shriver<\/h3>\n
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Gabe Ginsberg\/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs a woman who has leaned into my vocation of living a meaningful life inside and outside the home to not only raise good humans but also raise up our country in various ways, I think it\u2019s demeaning to women to imply that their choices outside of wife and motherhood pale in comparison to that of a homemaker,\u201d she wrote in an X post<\/a> on May 16, noting that it took a \u201crevolution\u201d to get increased rights for women.<\/p>\n

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