Whoopi Goldberg stood up for Harrison Butker during Thursday’s episode of “The View.”
Sitting down with her co-hosts, the actress discussed the Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College where he shared his sexist and anti-LGBTQIA+ beliefs.
“Listen, I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college, he’s a staunch Catholic, these are his beliefs, and he’s welcome to them,” Goldberg pointed out.
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The “Sister Act” actress, 68, clarified that people do “not have to believe” or “accept” his beliefs, but they have to “respect” them.
“We wanna give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours,” she explained.
Goldberg went on to compare the situation to the time Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in 2016 as people wanted the “same” respect back then.
“I’m OK with him saying whatever he says, and the women who were sitting there, if they take his advice, good for them, they’ll be happy. If they don’t, good for them, they’ll be happy in a different way. That’s my attitude,” Goldberg commented while the audience clapped.
She also argued that the Chiefs shouldn’t fire him over his beliefs.
“I have the right to say what I say. He has the right to say what he says,” she said. “When you say to somebody, ‘I don’t like what you said, and so I’m gonna get your job taken away, because you disagree with me,’ for me, that is an issue.”
The “Ghost” actress went on to compare the backlash Butker, 28, is getting to the heat she and the rest of the “View” co-hosts face for their hot takes.
“It happens to us all the time! That is why I am standing up for him saying –– I don’t understand what he’s talking about, because I’m not that Catholic –– but I have to say, just like I have my opinions, we have our opinions,” she concluded.
The rest of “The View” co-hosts chimed in with some agreeing that Butker has the right to say whatever he wants. However, they disagreed on the content of his speech.
“I thought what was most problematic certainly was what he said about the LGBTQ community, and he said it was sinful behavior,” Sunny Hostin pointed out.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Farah Griffin had a “huge issue” with him praising the role of a “homemaker” when he also “ignores half of the Bible” which encourages women to be “leaders in the community.”
As for Joy Behar, she disagreed with everyone and argued that he has “mother issues” because of the success of his mom as a physicist. She also said that he needs to “get a therapist.”
During the commencement speech, Butker spoke out against “dangerous gender ideologies,” Pride Month, abortion and women in the workforce.
His controversial remarks have caused a major stir as several celebrities –– including Maria Shriver, Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager and even the NFL –– have all spoken out against his comments.
