Katy Perry rewrites Harrison Butker’s controversial speech just in time for Pride Month: 'Fixed this'
Check out the commencement speech (Katy’s Version).
In honor of Pride Month, Katy Perry is reimagining Harrison Butker’s controversial graduation speech as something a bit more celebratory.
"Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays,” the singer wrote on Instagram, beside a heavily edited version of the Butker’s Benedictine College commencement address. "You can do anything, congratulations and happy pride 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ 🧡.”
Where the original version earned the Kansas City Chiefs kicker flack for encouraging female graduates to embrace motherhood and urging male graduates to "fight against the cultural emasculation of men,” Perry’s version splices together Butker’s words to voice support for women and the LGBTQ+ community.
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"For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives,” says Butker in the edited clip. “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.”
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The edited Butker continues, “I say all of this to you because I have seen it 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.”
The editing grows heavier as Perry’s version of the speech continues: "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 Month to all of you. And congratulations Class of 2024.”
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In reality, Butker, a devout Catholic, used his 20-minute speech to target the LGBTQIA+ community, denounce abortion rights, and criticize President Joe Biden, in addition to commenting on traditional gender roles. He directly addressed the female graduates in the room, encouraging them to become “homemakers,” before referencing his own wife.
"I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother," Butker said during his May 11 address. "Isabelle's dream of having career might not have come true, but if you ask her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud without hesitation and say, 'Heck no.'"
Butker’s remarks were met with a wave of backlash: GLAAD denounced the address, the NFL denied that his views are shared by the organization, and an order of nuns affiliated with Benedictine College criticized the speech in a statement shared on Facebook, writing that they "reject a narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic."
Outside of Perry, several other celebrities have commented on Butker’s speech, including The View commentator Whoopi Goldberg and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who took time during a Las Vegas concert to troll Butker’s sexist remarks.
"There's nothing more masculine than a strong man supporting a strong woman,” Vedder said to thunderous applause. “People of quality do not fear equality."
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.