Katy Perry "Fixed" Harrison Butker's Commencement Speech On IG
As she should!
In honor of Pride Month, Katy Perry’s weighing in on Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech. The Chiefs kicker spoke at Benedictine College’s graduation on May 10, encouraging the female graduates to focus on getting married and having children instead of pursuing professional accomplishments. He also spoke negatively about the LGBTQ+ community.
On June 1, Perry posted an edited version of the speech on IG, making her stance on the sitch clear. “Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays,” the singer wrote on IG, alongside the edited video. “You can do anything, congratulations and happy Pride.”
Perry’s version of the speech went like this:
“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved at this point in your young lives. How many of you are sitting here, now about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world. I say all of this to you because I have seen firsthand how much happier someone can be supporting women, and not saying that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
In Perry’s video, Butker continued, “The road ahead is bright, things are changing. Society is shifting and people young and old are embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion. With that said, I want to say Happy Pride to all of you, and congratulations class of 2024.”
The edited version was a far cry from Butker’s original speech, which had prompted responses from the NFL and the Kelce brothers. “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL's senior VP and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told NPR on May 16. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
The Kelce brothers discussed Butker’s speech during a May 24 episode of their New Heights podcast. Jason Kelce said, “Make no mistake about it, a lot of the things he said in his commencement speech are not things that I align myself with.” He added, “If my daughters listen to anybody tell them what to do, that they should be homemakers, then I've failed as a dad.”
Travis Kelce, Butker’s teammate, gave his take on the controversy. “When it comes down to his views and what he said at Saint Benedict’s commencement speech, those are his. I can’t say I agree with the majority of it — or just about any of it — outside of just him loving his family and his kids and I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life. That’s just not who I am.”
