Untangling the Controversy Surrounding Harrison Butker’s Graduation Speech

And Harrison didn’t just direct his words at the graduating women. He also urged the men in the crowd to be “unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men.” Plus, he targeted the LGBTQIA+ community, calling Pride Month “the deadly sin sort of pride,” and criticized the support of procedures such as abortion, IVF and surrogacy. 

After his speech spread online, many social media users, as well as celebrities like Serena Williams, Katy Perry, Hoda Kotb and his teammate Travis Kelce‘s sister-in-law Kylie Kelce, spoke out against his controversial messaging.

In her response, Kylie——who is married to former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce—encouraged women who want to pursue careers to not let Harrison’s comments divert them from those goals. 

“Those women graduating in that class have just achieved something that no one can take away from them,” the 32-year-old said during a June 2024 interview with Cheddar. “Their education will stick with them for the rest of their lives. I hope they were appropriately celebrated if that was not their view.”

Meanwhile, Hoda called out Harrison for speaking on behalf of a demographic he doesn’t belong to, saying, “Stop speaking for women out there.”