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What Did Maria Shriver, Whoopie Goldberg, and Others Say About Harrison Butker’s Misogynistic Commencement Speech?
Outrage ensues as celebs like Maria Shriver, and Whoopi Goldberg slam Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's controversial speech telling women to be 'homemakers'. Read to know what they had to say!
A downpour of backlash has engulfed Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker after his polarizing commencement speech urging women to embrace traditional roles as wives and mothers. Celebrities like Maria Shriver and Whoopi Goldberg are slamming Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's controversial speech, telling women to be 'homemakers'.
For the unversed, in his controversial address at the Catholic Benedictine College, the 28-year-old NFL star spewed remarks laced with outdated values that numerous high-profile voices have forcefully condemned as demeaning, misogynistic, and an offense to decades of progress in gender equality.
Maria Shriver's searing takedown
At the vortex of the furor is journalist and activist Maria Shriver, who slammed Butker's "demeaning" suggestion that women should prioritize motherhood over pursuing careers. The 68-year-old took a digitally defiant stand, stating the football player's speech as dismissive of the countless hardships women have battled to attain fundamental rights outside the home.
"As a woman who has leaned into my vocation of living a meaningful life and working inside and outside the home to not only raise good humans but also raise up our country in various ways, I think it's demeaning to women to imply that their choices outside of wife and motherhood pale in comparison to that of a homemaker," Shriver asserted in a fierce statement on a social media platform X.
The mother of four recounted the revolution required for women to gain fundamental rights like voting, access to birth control and even putting their names on checking accounts - hardships which Butker's old-fashioned mindset disregards. While acknowledging his right to free speech, Shriver offered some candid advice:
Shriver continued, "I will not tell Mr Butker to stick to kicking, but I would suggest next time he speaks to women first and listen to someone with a clearer take on where most women find themselves in 2024."
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush’s scathing smackdown
Sharing Shriver's strong objections were NBC's Today Show co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, who slammed Butker for arrogantly presuming to speak for what women should aspire to.
"Don't speak for us. Stop speaking for women out there," Kotb bluntly stated, while Bush Hager argued Butker's position reeks of privilege.
"It's an elitist concept to begin with," she asserted, pointing out that many families require both parents to work to make ends meet - a reality Butker's speech disregards.
The scathing smackdown didn't stop there, as legendary television host Whoopi Goldberg weighed in with an eyebrow-raising comparison.
Whoopi Goldberg's Kaepernick analogy
"In the same way, we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours. I'm OK with him saying whatever he said," Goldberg reasoned on The View, likening the outrage over Butker's speech to protests over Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem.
Her stance sparked its own backlash, with many deriding the analogy as flawed since Kaepernick peacefully demonstrated against systemic injustice, while Butker's words propagated a regressive, denigrating view of women.
What did Harrison Butker say in his speech?
In his speech, the kicker claimed women have been bombarded with "diabolical lies" about their purpose, before asserting: "Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world."
He held up his wife Isabelle as a shining example, declaring, "Her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother" after becoming a "Homemaker."
The speech drew accusations of misogyny for pushing an antiquated "traditional" narrative that a woman's worth culminates in domesticity while belittling their aspirations outside the home.
A few emerge to defend Harrison Butker
Amid the overwhelming deluge of criticism, a handful of voices emerged to defend Butker's right to express his conservative Catholic values.
The New York Post's Kirsten Fleming opined the athlete's comments were "misconstrued," arguing, "Butker wasn't saying women can't work. He was reminding them that family and children can usurp job satisfaction."
USA Today's Nicole Russell, meanwhile, insisted declining birth rates mean "it is certainly good for society for women to have babies." She criticized the "harsh reaction" as "a lack of tolerance" for "traditional Catholic views."
As the outrage continues, the NFL has distanced itself from Butker's rhetoric, stating: "His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion."
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