This past weekend, as Pearl Jam performed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, frontman Eddie Vedder sounded off on Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech. Butker has gotten heaps of backlash over his virulent address at Benedictine College last weekend, in which he shared his belief that women belong in the kitchen. In response, Vedder called the NFL kicker a “fucking pussy,” according to Variety.
As he introduced Pearl Jam’s gender-inclusive opening act, Deep Sea Diver, Vedder told the crowd, “The singer, Jessica, and the keyboard player, Patti, they must not have believed that ‘diabolical lie’ that women should take pride in taking a back seat to their man.”
“The irony was that when he was saying that, he looked like such a fucking pussy,” Vedder added.
In his now infamous speech, Butker told the Catholic school’s male graduates to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and fight “against the cultural emasculation of men.” Addressing the female students, he 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.” Offering his wife as an example, Butker said that women should embrace “one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”
Vedder called BS on Butker’s speech. “The irony was that the football player—well, kicker—doesn’t have the pads because he doesn’t tackle anybody or get tackled,” he said at the Vegas show. “But he started telling men, ‘Don’t forget to puff up your chest and be more masculine. Don’t lose your masculinity.’ There’s nothing more masculine than a strong man supporting a strong woman.”
Vedder went on to state that homemaking is something to take pride in, regardless of your gender, but he took issue with Butker’s sexist framing. “[Homemaking] is one of the hardest jobs and you should definitely take pride in it,” the guitarist and singer said. “But you’re going to benefit by giving up your dreams? I couldn’t understand the logic, so I’m questioning it in public right now.”
Butker’s comments have already drawn criticism from the NFL and from the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, who rejected his “narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic.”
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