The retired NFL star used the same phrase as Butker while defending those who don’t wash “every crevice of your bodies and hair” daily
Jason Kelce has some “diabolical lies” to address about bathing.
The recently retired Philadelphia Eagles player, 36, appeared to playfully nod to Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech on Saturday, June 1, when he argued with fans on X (formerly Twitter) after one claimed that he “looks like he doesn’t wash his feet or legs.”
Weeks after Butker’s Benedictine College speech took aim at the LGBTQ+ community, working women, abortion rights and more — all while incorporating the phrase “diabolical lies” — Jason seemed to put a spin on the phrase to defend those who don’t actively wash their feet or legs while bathing.
The ordeal began after a fan posted, “Jason Kelce looks like he doesn’t wash his legs or feet,” to which the athlete replied: “What kind of weirdo washes their feet….”
The short response then resulted in a back-and-forth in Jason’s replies about which parts of the body to wash while bathing and the effort one should put into washing them.
At one point, a fan sent Jason a diagram that implied “water will get to” one’s feet in the shower without much scrubbing effort.
Later, one follower claimed that a “study” found “more bacteria on those who actively washed their legs/feet” while bathing. “Let em know, from the rooftop,” Jason wrote in response.
“All of you have been fed diabolical lies that washing every crevice of your bodies and hair, all the time is somehow better or healthier,” Jason then joked.
“Any dermatologist not in bed with Big Soap will agree!! Hot spots are all that is necessary and actually leads to cleaner healthier skin,” he continued.
While the “diabolical lies” Jason was referring to were part of a playful social media debate, Butker previously used the phrase to share his views on abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy and the LGBTQ+ community during a May 11 graduation.
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s speech — in which he encouraged men in the audience to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men” — was met with widespread disapproval.
Former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn slammed Butker’s comments, writing online that he “doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever.”
Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told PEOPLE days after the speech that his views were “not those of the NFL as an organization,” citing the league’s “commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
During a May 24 episode of the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast, Jason’s brother and Butker’s teammate Travis Kelce called him “every bit of a great person and a great teammate,” but that his views “are his.”
“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids. And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am,” he added.
As for Jason, he said that “a lot of the things he said in his commencement speech are not things that I align myself with.”
“To me, I can listen to somebody talk and take great value in it,” Jason continued. “Like when he’s talking about the importance of family and the importance that a great mother can make, while also acknowledge that not everybody has to be a homemaker if that’s not what they want to do in life.”
