Patricia Heaton came to the defense of embattled Kanas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in the wake of a controversial graduation speech he gave earlier this month.
Butker, 28, has been a focal point of social media ire following a speech he delivered May 11 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, touching on sensitive topics ranging from abortion to Pride Month to women in the workforce.
The two-time Emmy winner, 66, took to Instagram Saturday expressing her confusion about the uproar to the NFL player’s comments in the speech, noting that they were well-received at the venue.
‘I don’t understand why everyone’s knickers are in a twist,’ Heaton said in the online clip. ‘He gave a commencement speech, the audience applauded twice during the speech and gave him a standing ovation at the end.’
The Cleveland native, who appeared in the clip donning a ballcap and zip-up sweater in front of a workout machine, said the audience at the commencement ‘enjoyed what he was saying.’
Patricia Heaton, 66, came to the defense of embattled Kanas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, 28, in the wake of a controversial graduation speech he gave earlier this month
Butker has been a focal point of social media ire following a speech he delivered May 11 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, touching on sensitive topics ranging from abortion to Pride Month to women in the workforce. Pictured in September 2023
Heaton, who played the role of Debra Barone on 210 episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, said that Butker was perfectly appropriate in ‘espousing his own opinions and Catholic doctrine’ in the public address.
‘So what? It’s his opinion – he can have one,’ Heaton said. ‘He’s not a monster for stating what he believes.
‘He went after bishops much more than he went after women, or what women’s choices are, or what he thinks they should be – so, I don’t understand.’
Heaton, who has also been seen on shows such as Thirtysomething, Back to You, Carol’s Second Act and The Middle, cited her own faith in pledging his support for the field goal kicker.
‘I am a Catholic woman, who worked through my kids’ childhood and I believe God opened those doors for me,’ Heaton said. ‘Thankfully, it was a schedule that allowed me to also be a full-time mom, basically.
‘I find nothing offensive about what he said, even though my life is very different and he might even look at my life and say that’s not the way it should be – that’s okay – that’s his opinion.’
Heaton said said she found it a curiosity why people took offense to the remarks made by Butker, who is a teammate of Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce.
‘If you have made choices in your life and you feel those are the right choices and you’re comfortable and they’re working out for you and your family, great,’ Heaton said. ‘And if they’re different from his, that’s great.’
The two-time Emmy winner took to Instagram Saturday expressing her confusion about the uproar to the NFL player’s comments in the speech
The Cleveland native appeared in the clip donning a ballcap and zip-up sweater in front of a workout machine
Heaton said said she found it a curiosity why people took offense to the remarks made by Butker, who is a teammate of Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce
She said in the clip, ‘If you have made choices in your life and you feel those are the right choices and you’re comfortable and they’re working out for you and your family, great and if they’re different from his, that’s great’
She wrapped up in advising her followers to live their own lives with the values they hold dear, and not fret about what others might think.
‘You do you,’ Heaton said. ‘He’ll do him and his family. Relax, everybody.’
In his speech, the placekicker called Pride Month emblematic of ‘the deadly sins,’ and said contemporary ‘degenerate cultural values’ encompass issues including abortion, in vitro fertilization and surrogacy.
Butker, whose mother is physicist Elizabeth Keller Butker, said that females in the graduating class should understand that the ‘most important title’ they can hold is that of the ‘homemaker.’
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.’
Among the notable names to criticize Butker’s commentary included singer Maren Morris, rapper Flavor Flav and writer-activist Maria Shriver.
Celebrities who came to the defense of Butker amid the uproar included Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Maher.
‘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,’ Goldberg said on The View.
