Whoopi Goldberg is coming to Harrison Butker's defense following his controversial college address -- but she's not so much agreeing with what he said ... more so his right to say it.
The TV star came out swinging on Thursday's episode of "The View" ... saying the Chiefs star was technically right to speak his mind during his speech this past weekend, especially since he's a devout Catholic addressing a Catholic college.
WG says that while she doesn't agree with Butker -- noting that the women at the commencement didn't have to either -- she still feels like he was within his right to speak his views.
Whoopi brought Colin Kaepernick into the mix to drive her point home ... saying a lot of people didn't agree with his statements when he was protesting several years ago. While Whoopi feels like that was a just cause ... she says we have to respect different POVs.
Goldberg passionately wrapped it up, saying, "When you say to somebody, 'I don't like what you said and so I'm going to get your job taken away because you disagree with me,' for me that is an issue."
The backdrop here ... Butker has been obliterated online following his speech at Benedictine College in Kansas after covering topics such as abortion, the LGBTQ+ community, COVID, and a woman's purpose being homemakers and mothers. He even referenced Taylor Swift.
For now, Whoopi seems to be in the minority for defending Harrison so publicly -- but as she made abundantly clear ... she's not one to shy away from speaking her mind.