Harrison Butker is the kicker for the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Butker recently came under fire for comments he made during a commencement address at Benedictine College in Kansas.
Butker congratulated the women graduates but said they had been fed “diabolical lies” about there future and added: “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,” the kicker said. He then praised his wife, Isabella, for “leaning into her vocation” as a homemaker.
Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder was having none of that and made his feelings known during the band’s recent performance in Las Vegas. Vedder praised the band’s opening act, Deep Sea Diver, whose lineup includes two women.
“While I have your attention, can we please raise our voices, clap our hands, show our appreciation for the first group to be on the stage tonight … Deep Sea Diver!” Vedder said. “That’s some good men, good women, making up a great band. The singer, Jessica, and the keyboard player, Patti, they must not have believed that ‘diabolical lie’ that women should take pride in taking a back seat to their man.”
Vedder continued: “Okay, I get that could be for some people, and there should be pride in homemaking, whether you’re a man or a woman. It’s maybe one of the hardest jobs, and you should definitely take pride in it, but you shouldn’t not follow a dream because you think that is the more, that you’re gonna benefit by giving up your dreams. I couldn’t understand the logic. So, I’m questioning in public right now. It’s not a graduation speech, but it’s a full house in Las Vegas, so I want to see how you felt.”
Vedder then turned his ire to Butker. “You know, the irony was that this football player, kicker — you see the kicker because he doesn’t have the pads because he doesn’t tackle anybody or get tackled,” Vedder said. “But, you know, he was telling men, ‘Don’t forget to puff up your chest and be more masculine. Don’t lose your masculinity.’ The irony was that when he was saying that, he looked like such a f— pussy. There’s nothing more masculine than a strong man supporting a strong woman. And people of quality do not fear equality. And that woman, Jessica, she’s not fronting a band, playing in Las Vegas and being on tour because she decided, ‘Yeah, I’ll just take the back seat and support a man.’”
Vedder’s address to the crowd can be viewed below.
