Patricia Heaton doesn’t understand all the hate surrounding Harrison Butker‘s commencement speech.
As Perezcious readers know, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker made waves when giving a graduation speech at Benedictine College this month. He told the graduating women their place is at home and not in the workforce while also spewing other awful takes about the LGBTQ+ community, abortion, IVF, surrogacy, and way more.
The speech sparked so much outrage that a petition to get him kicked off his NFL team has already generated over 200K signatures! But, shockingly, the footballer still has some high-profile figures sticking up for him — including career women?!
Related: Harrison Gave A Similar Speech Last Year At Another College!
On Sunday, Patricia Heaton weighed in on the controversy in a video on Instagram… for some reason. The Everybody Loves Raymond alum said she couldn’t wrap her head around all the negativity aimed at Harrison, saying:
“I don’t know why everybody’s knickers are in a twist. He gave a commencement speech. The audience applauded twice and gave him a standing ovation at the end, so clearly they enjoyed what he was saying. The guy is espousing his own opinions and Catholic doctrine, so what?”
Patricia, who is Catholic and worked all throughout her four sons’ childhoods, clearly missed the part where the Benedictine College nuns denounced the speech. She went on:
“It’s his opinion. He can have one. He’s allowed. He’s not a monster for stating what he believes.”
The 66-year-old added:
“I’m just curious as to why people get ‘offended.’ If you have made choices in your life and you feel those are the right choices and you feel comfortable and they’re working out for you and your family, great. If they’re different from his, that’s great. You do you. He’ll do him. Relax, everybody.”
It’s one thing to have an opinion, it’s another to call LGBT pride a “deadly sin” and discuss a woman’s body as if he has any right to tell a woman what to do! He’s not happy with everyone else “doing you.” He’s actively demonizing the existence of whole communities and pushing for the removal of women’s autonomy, not to mention hitting on some greatest hits of antisemitism for good measure. Hate speech isn’t “just like, your opinion, man.”
And plenty of Patricia’s own followers agreed, commenting:
“He can have his opinion on his own damn time. He disrespected every woman getting their degree that day. I haven’t raised three daughters to serve a man.”
“Yes, he is entitled to his opinion, and so is every woman who is offended by his opinion of woman.”
“A commencement speech should be about congratulating those who have worked hard earning their degrees, not a moment where personal opinions should be discussed.”
“No. This was misogyny.”
See it all (below):
FWIW, though, The Middle star isn’t the only one taking this stance on Harrison. Whoopi Goldberg also came to his defense in the battle, citing freedom of speech. She said on The View last week:
“These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to them. I don’t have to believe them, right? I don’t have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them.”
That said, she had an understandable reason for not wanting to see him get canceled — and it was personal, she acknowledged:
“When you say to somebody, ‘I don’t like what you said and so I’m going to get your job taken away because you disagree with me,’ for me that is an issue. It happens to us all the time! That is why I am standing up for him.”
Understandable, we suppose, but again, some of what Harrison said went beyond just spewing his own beliefs. He targeted so many different marginalized communities with deeply hateful comments. Should that really be let off the hook just because it’s opinion?? And why are Patricia and Whoopi more upset about the hundreds of thousands of women voicing their opinions now??
What do y’all think, Perezcious readers? Sound off in the comments (below)!
[Image via Benedictine College/The Real Daytime/YouTube]
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