Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt defends Harrison Butker after kicker tells women to be homemakers

Harrison Butker has found at least one supporter following his sexist and homophobic commencement speech last weekend. Kansas City Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt came to the kicker’s defense Friday morning while appearing on “Fox & Friends,” telling co-anchor Steve Doocy that she “for sure” understood what Butker was saying when he declared that a woman’s “most important title” should be “homemaker.”

“Well, I can only speak from my own experience, which is I’ve had the most incredible mom who had the ability to stay home and be with us as kids growing up,” Hunt, 25, explained to Doocy, “and I understand that there are many women out there who can’t make that decision. “But for me and my life, I know it was really formative and in shaping me and my siblings into who we are,” she continued.

Hunt, who is the daughter of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, also said she respects “Harrison and his Christian faith and what he’s accomplished on and off the field.” Butker, whose mother is a renowned physicist, has been under fire for his controversial address at Benedictine College during he said the “majority” of matriculating women would be “most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he added. The 28-year-old athlete also addressed the male graduates, urging them to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and “fight against the cultural emasculation of men.”

During his 20-minute speech at the private Catholic college in Atchison, Kan., Butker railed on Pride Month as an example of “the deadly sins,” complaining that the LGBTQIA+ community have an “entire month dedicated” to their rights. Famed journalist Maria Shriver took exception to Butker’s “demeaning” address and issued a lengthy statement on social media imploring him to speak “to women first and listen to someone with a clearer take on where most women find themselves in 2024.”

The NFL also condemned Butker’s comments, telling football fans in a statement that the League is “steadfast in our commitment to inclusion.” However, Whoopi Goldberg took the opposite stance, telling her “View” co-hosts this week, “Listen, I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college, he’s a staunch Catholic, these are his beliefs, and he’s welcome to them.” And though she clarified she doesn’t believe his views, she added, “We wanna give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours.”