Katy Perry has decided to make Harrison Butker's highly scrutinized graduation speech more inclusive, in honor of Pride Month.
On Saturday, June 1, the singer shared an edited version of the Kansas City Chief kicker's commencement speech at Benedictine College, splicing video of Butker's original comments to appear as if the highly controversial kicker spoke in support of the LGBTQ+ community and women working outside the home.
"For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives," the video beings, which shows Butker at the graduation festivities giving his speech. "How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world. I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand, how much happier someone can be supporting women and not saying that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.
"The road ahead is bright, things are changing, society is shifting and people young and old are embracing diversity, equity and inclusion," the edited video continues. "With all of that said, I want to say happy Pride Month to all of you and congratulations class of 2024."
"Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays—you can do anything, congratulations and happy pride," Perry wrote in the post's caption.
Unlike Perry's edited version, in his speech Butker originally "ventured to guess" that the young women graduates in the audience were most excited about getting married and having children instead of believing what he called the “diabolical lies” of pursuing a career.
The NFL kicker also encouraged the audience to “stop pretending” that IVF and surrogacy “are normal," claimed birth control is not “natural," and urged his audience to reject “the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion" while attacking the LGBTQ+ community.
"I'm certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine wouldn't be met with anger," Butker said at the time, "but instead met with excitement and pride—not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him."
While Butker's original graduation speech was met with swift backlash and condemnation online and elsewhere, the Chiefs kicker doubled down on his comments while speaking at the "Courage Under Fire" gala in Nashville, Tennessee.
"If it wasn't clear what the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now," he said at the time.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes all came to Butker's defense as well, arguing that while they may not agree with his comments the kicker was simply voicing his opinion.
“When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from different areas of life and they have a lot of different views on everything,” Mahomes said during a recent press conference. “We’re not always going to agree … but I understand the person that he is and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”
