Serena and Venus Williams fire shots at Chiefs' Harrison Butker at ESPY Awards 2024 - "We don't need you"
Harrison Butker is still attracting criticism two months after his "homemaker" speech at Benedictine College's commencement ceremony. Now it comes from two tennis icons who have been trailblazers for equality in sports.
Multiple-time Grand Slam champions Serena and Venus Williams took the stage alongside actress-comedienne Quinta Brunson at the ESPYs on Thursday and delivered a scathing remark at the Kansas City Chiefs kicker:
"Go ahead and enjoy women's sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports... except you, Harrison Butker. We don't need you at all. Like, ever."
Butker was in attendance for the ceremony. His teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is a nominee for 'Best NFL Player' and 'Best Athlete, Men's Sports', while the Chiefs themselves are nominees for 'Best Team' - the only one from the NFL.
Sharon Osbourne also condemns Harrison Butker over “homemaker speech”
There have been many members to the anti-Harrison Butker brigade ever since his “homemaker” speech, led by prominent women in media like NBC Today hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush-Hager, former Chiefs cheerleader Stefanie Hills, NBC Sports Boston host Trenni Casey, and even the nuns at Benedictine College.
Last month, Sharon Osbourne became a member of that group. Speaking on an episode of The Osbournes Podcast, which she co-hosts with her husband and rock icon Ozzy and their children Kelly and Jack, she called the three-time Super Bowl champion multiple expletives:
“What a p****. That's what he is. That little f***** ignorant bastard. You know they don't need some little t*** telling women what to do."
She continued:
"How about saying to women, 'if you take on further education, that's brilliant to educate yourself. So, you're fully educated, you know your own mind and do what you want to do' and that's it… How dare he do his speech about women."
When emailed by Newsweek for comment, Butker did not respond.