Pop star Katy Perry began Pride Month by posting an edited version of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's Benedictine College commencement speech from last month. In the video posted on Perry's Instagram account, portions of Butker's speech were spliced together to provide a positive message toward the LGBTQ+ community.
"For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment," Butker said in the highly edited video. "You should be proud of all that you have achieved to 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 that the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world.
"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 road ahead is bright. Things are changing, society is shifting and people, young and old, are embracing diversity, equity and inclusion."
Perry captioned the post: "Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything." She also added a clip in which Butker can be heard saying, "I want to say Happy Pride Month to all of you, and congratulations Class of 2024!"
Butker touched on several controversial topics during his speech in May, including women's roles in society and Pride Month.
"Part of what plagues our society," Butker said during last month's speech, "is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities. As men, we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in. This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation. Other countries do not have nearly the same absentee father rates as we find here in the U.S., and a correlation could be made in their drastically lower violence rates. ... Be unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy."
Following Butker's speech, the NFL responded by stating the Chiefs kicker's views don't reflect the league's stance on many of these topics.
"His views are not those of the NFL as an organization," said Jonathan Beane, the NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer. "The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger."
