Whoopi Goldberg, never one to shy away from giving her opinions on cultural events, delved into the recent controversy surrounding Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
Butker, for the unfamiliar, gave a commencement speech at Benedictine University, a private Catholic institution, this past weekend, which critics labeled antisemitic, anti-women, and anti-LGBTQ.
Goldberg, who has a noted liberal political history, said she’s fine with Butker being able to state his views while disagreeing with him.
“So, the NFL released a statement that he gave this speech in his personal capacity, and they do not, the NFL does not share his views. … I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college. He is a staunch Catholic,” she said.
“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. 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.”
Golberg continued, “Because the man who says he wants to be president, you-know-who, he says the way to act is 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.
“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 a different way. That’s my attitude.”
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