Zack Sharf Digital News Director Pearl Jam played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 18, and frontman Eddie Vedder couldn’t resist eviscerating Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College (via BroBible).
Butker has received enormous backlash for the speech, in which he attacked Pride Month and shared his belief that women belong in the kitchen.
He said “one of the most important titles” a woman could have is homemaker. Vedder took a quick pause in between songs at Pearl Jam’s Vegas show to encourage the audience to cheer for the band’s opening act, the indie rock band Deep See Diver.
Vedder noted that two of the band members, including its lead singer, are women. “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,” Vedder said in a dig at Butker’s ideology. “There should be pride in homemaking if you’re a man or a woman … it’s one of the hardest jobs and you should definitely take pride in it, but you’re going to benefit by giving up your dreams?” the frontman asked. “I couldn’t understand the logic, so I’m questioning it in public right now … It’s not a graduation speech.” Vedder then took direct aim at Butker, telling the crowd: “The irony was that the football player — well, kicker … You see the kicker doesn’t have the pads because he doesn’t tackle anybody or get tackled — but he started telling men, ‘Don’t forget to puff up your chest and be more masculine.
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