Katy Perry marked the start of Pride month by reworking Harrison Butker’s controversial graduation speech into a celebratory message.
The pop star edited the 20-minute commencement address Butker gave at Benedictine College in Kansas, which originally criticized working women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other sensitive topics.
Perry transformed the speech, highlighting Butker’s words to praise female graduates and the pursuit of professional success. “For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives,” Butker is made to say in Perry’s edited version. She rearranged his words to create a supportive message: “How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world.”
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Further into the edit, Butker appears to express a broader, more inclusive vision: “I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand, how much happier someone can be supporting women and not saying that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. The road ahead is bright, things are changing, society is shifting and people young and old are embracing diversity equity and inclusion.”
Perry concluded the speech with a nod to Pride Month, “With that said, I want to say happy Pride Month to all of you. And congratulations Class of 2024.”
She captioned her Instagram post, “Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything, congratulations and happy pride,” and chose to disable comments on the post. Despite this, the post quickly attracted over 100,000 likes.
Meanwhile, Butker was seen with his teammates at the White House celebrating their Super Bowl victory, shortly after his critical remarks about President Joe Biden in the original speech, where he accused the President of contradictory actions regarding his Catholic faith and stance on abortion.
