“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg broke from her fellow co-hosts to defend Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s right to express his conservative views without consequences during Thursday’s panel.
Butker has come under intense scrutiny for his commencement speech at Benedictine College—a Catholic institution—where he encouraged female graduates to value marriage and motherhood over a career, criticized the “dangerous gender ideologies” during Pride Month and blamed President’s Joe Biden’s leadership for “poor life decisions” such as abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Despite being a staunch left-winger, Goldberg defended Butker’s right to express his conservative and Catholic beliefs without any fear of being fired.
“He’s at a Catholic college, he’s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to them. I don’t have to believe them. I don’t have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them,” Goldberg said. “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 [Donald Trump], you know who, he says the way to act is to take away people’s right to say how they feel. We don’t want to be that. We don’t want to be those people, so I’m okay with him saying whatever he says and the women that were sitting there, if they take his advice, good for them. They’ll be happy. For the women who don’t, good for them, they’ll be happy in a different way. That’s my attitude.”
Co-host Sara Haines took issue the comparison to Kaepernick, and accused Butker of promoting the so-called “cult-like” and “extreme” beliefs of Latin mass attendees. (RELATED: Super Bowl Champion Harris Butker Blames Lack Of Fathers, Not Guns, For ‘Degenerate Violence’ Plaguing America)
“What I can say to him, as a Christian, if you’re using this to oppress a people or hold them down, you’re not walking with Jesus,” Haines said. “If you are using a religion, if you are more obsessed with the religious rituals and practices, you are with the word of Jesus, you are not walking with Jesus, if you’re using for the judgement of others and as a weapon to beat people down, you’re also not walking with Jesus.”
Butker’s statements in the speech are not unique to a Latin mass, given that the Catholic Church opposes abortion, IVF, gender ideology and gay marriage.
“But if this is his belief system, if there are many Catholics who are staunch this way—” Goldberg pushed back.
“Only a small, small percentage are going to the Latin mass,” Haines pushed back.
“I’m just telling you there are many people who believe this way and I’m simply saying rather than write a petition to get him fired because—”
“Don’t get him fired, then,” Haines interjected.
“Well that’s what I’m talking about,” Goldberg replied.
“Just so you know, in the Catholic Church, the Pope diverges from this belief,” Haines claimed.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin condemned the commencement speech for being political, opposing gender ideology, and for pushing the “tradwife” lifestyle.
Co-host Sunny Hostin also defended Butker’s right to express his beliefs publicly, but opposed his views on the LGBTQ community and his criticisms of Biden.
“The most hateful speech is protected speech, and that’s in our Constitution, so I am okay—he had the right to say it,” Hostin said.
Co-host Joy Behar accused Butker of having “mother issues” due to his mother being a successful physicist, causing him to oppose women having careers.
A petition circulated on Change.org to fire Butker for his alleged “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion and racist” remarks, which earned over 100,000 signatures as of Thursday morning. Kansas City’s official Twitter account apologized Thursday after it revealed the town where Butker lives in a now-deleted tweet.
CatholicVote wrote a letter to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell and Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt about the “anti-Catholic bigotry” and “growing hatred, intimidation, and now threats of violence” against Butker and other Americans who share his faith.
“Indeed, the NFL proudly boasts that it ‘honors and celebrate the broad ranges of human difference among us, while also embracing the commonalities we share, and to provide each individual with the opportunity to achieve their full potential.’ Does this inclusion include Catholics, pro-life Americans, mothers, and those who hold to traditional moral beliefs?…We understand not every American, or NFL fan for that matter, may share the same opinions or beliefs as Mr. Butker. We are hopeful, however, that you do not intend to send a message to Catholics, or to those that still uphold basic moral tenets of a civilized society, that they are outsiders and no longer welcome. To paraphrase a famous quote from NBA star Michael Jordan, ‘Catholics watch NFL games, too.'”
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