Whoopi Goldberg has defended Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College, arguing that those are “his beliefs and he is welcome in them.”
Butker gave a 20-minute speech last Saturday at the private Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas, in which he said women should be “housewives” instead of working and asserted that “his life wife Isabelle truly began when she began to live her vocation as a housewife. wife and as a mother.
As of Thursday morning, a Change.org petition, “Demand Kansas City Chiefs Fire Harrison Butker for Discriminatory Remarks,” had more than 105,800 signatures, but Whoopi, 68, said the kicker shouldn’t lose his job simply because “he is a convinced Catholic.
Whoopi Goldberg defended Harrison Butker’s controversial keynote speech, arguing these are ‘his beliefs and he’s welcome’
Butker gave a 20-minute speech last Saturday at the private Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas.
“The NFL released a statement that he made this speech in his personal capacity and that’s not the case…the NFL doesn’t share his views. So, you know, look, I love it when “People say what they say. He’s a devout Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome among them,” the Sister Act star said.
“I don’t need to believe them. I don’t have to accept them. The ladies in the audience are not obliged to accept them. The same way we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours, because the man who says he wants to be president, you know who.” , she continued, referring to Donald Trump.
“He tells the way the act consists of taking away people’s rights to say what they feel. We don’t want to be that, wI don’t want to be those people.
‘So I agree with him saying everything he says and the women who were sitting there, if they follow his advice, so much the better for them, they, I’ll be happy. If they don’t, good for them, they will be happy differently That’s my attitude,” Whoopi added.
Viewers listening at home were less than impressed with his comments and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts.
“Why is Whoopi so subject to these guys’ rhetoric,” one person posted, while another said: “Comparing this clown to what Colin Kaepernick did is an insult to Colin. Whoopi is wrong .
A third person said: “Whoopi is stuck on the man getting fired. I don’t hear anyone else on the panel saying he should be fired, but rather disagreeing with what he said.
Her co-host Sara Haines was quick to speak up and told Whoopi: “I agree with you and me I don’t agree with you,” while Whoopi bluntly replied, “It doesn’t matter.
Sara Haines (R) urged Butker to “find the best elements of faith and not diverge into extremist beliefs.”
The mother of three said: “I don’t want people to be shut down or fired for things they are willing to say. I’m going to break with you on the Colin Kaepernick comparison for this reason: Colin Kaepernick stood up for the rights of many people and said in a moment of social justice, “This reminds us that we are not there yet.” »
“What this man is doing is not only a devout Catholic, he is someone who practices what is called the traditional Latin Mass, which diverges from the majority of Catholics.”
Sara continued: “It’s comparable to being bigoted and extremist, like some religions in the Middle East and Asia.
“So this is a very extreme religion and what bothers me – as a Christian – is that when people abuse Christianity, not only do they choose the Bible, but they misinterpret it and lie about it. omission, removing parts that might have explained something a little better.
“So what I can tell him, as a Christian, is if you use this to oppress people or hold them back, you are not walking with Jesus. If you use religion, if you are more obsessed with religious rituals and practices than with the word of Jesus, you are not walking with Jesus.
“And if you use it to judge others and as a weapon to tear people down, you’re not walking with Jesus either.” So I would really encourage him to find the best parts of faith and not stray into extremist beliefs,” she added to applause from the live studio audience.