“He looked like such a f—king p**sy” – Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder skewers Chiefs’ Harrison Butker over commencement speech controversy
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder took a short break from his MGM Grand concert to call out Harrison Butker. The Kansas City Chiefs kicker has been under fire for his comments on women and the LGBTQ+ community during a commencement speech at Benedictine College,
Pausing between songs, Vedder spoke about his band, where two members — Jessica and Patti — are women.
“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 said (h/t Variety).
Vedder added that one should take pride in homemaking irrespective of gender, labeling it as 'one of the hardest jobs you should take pride in.' Eddie also questioned Butker's 'logic.'
“The irony was that the football player — well, kicker … You see the kicker doesn’t have the pads because he doesn’t tackle anybody or get tackled — but he started 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—king p**sy," Eddie said.
Furthermore, Vedder believes there's nothing more masculine than a man supporting a woman.
NFL made a statement after Harrison Butker's commencement speech
Following the backlash from Butker's speech, the NFL's Chief Diversity and Inclusion officer, Jonathan Beane, spoke about the issue.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity," Beane said. "His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Multiple people from the sports world, including Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly, also reacted to Butker's speech. While she agreed she thrives as a homemaker, not every woman can or has to choose that path.
The response, however, wasn't positive. Kelly lashed out through her IG stories, upset over questions being raised about her opinion.
Isaac Rochell's wife, Allison Kuch, and Whoopi Goldberg were among others who responded to Butker's speech.