Performing at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this past weekend, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder took issue with Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s recent commencement speech.
The speech by Butker at Kansas’ Benedictine College kicked up a firestorm of controversy.
Referencing the women in the band that opened for Pearl Jam, Vedder said, “They must not have believed that ‘diabolical lie,’ that women should take pride in taking a backseat to their men.”
The “diabolical lie” Vedder spoke of was part of Butker’s speech, which, among other things, assailed Pride Month and included a claim that some Catholic leaders are “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion delivered his roughly 20-minute address May 11 at the Catholic private liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, which is about 60 miles north of Kansas City. He received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.
Butker said that his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.“
“OK, I get that, the need for some people. There should be pride in homemaking whether you’re a man or woman. It’s maybe one of the hardest jobs and you should definitely take pride in it,” Vedder said. “But you should not follow a dream because you think that is the more—that you’re gonna benefit by giving up your dreams.”
The Associated Press noted in a report that Butker’s speech was embraced by Benedictine College, writing, “The fast-growing college is part of a constellation of conservative Catholic colleges that tout their adherence to church teachings and practice — part of a larger conservative movement in parts of the U.S. Catholic Church.”
The Associated Press noted that Benedictine College is home to traditional expressions of Catholicism, including Latin Mass, all-night prayer vigils and a strict code of conduct.
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