Gabi Butler from Cheer is defending the statements she made in season 2 about her support of her friend and former teammate. The hit reality show, released in January 2020, followed the Navarro College cheer team as they worked toward a championship. In September 2020, Jerry Harris, a fan-favorite, was arrested for alleged sexual assault. He was indicted on seven counts regarding five minor boys. Four of these are for sexual exploitation of children, one for receiving and attempting to receive child pornography, one for traveling with the attempt to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, and one count of enticement. These acts, if found guilty, would result in 15 to 30 years in federal prison. In December of 2020, Harris pleaded not guilty to all the felony charges stacked against him.
The second season of Cheer began filming in January 2020 but was halted due to the pandemic. They resumed filming in September of the same year. Episode five of the second season was devoted to examining the case and included interviews with Harris' former teammates, including Butler. She explained how when she received the news it felt like she was living a bad dream. Gabi went on to say how she does not condone the crimes he was accused of at all, but she is not going to cut him out of her life altogether. She believes people expect her to now hate him but she says that she is not going to turn her back on him.
After season two was released, Butler told E! News that although months have gone by since her confessional, "I still stand very firm on what I said." She knows that her opinion on this matter may be controversial but she wants fans to understand where she is coming from. "It is extremely hard to just go and pretend like nothing else is going on in the world because truthfully, like, I'm not a robot," Butler said. "But at the end of the day, like when I am doing what I'm doing I'm very focused. I do know how to have that switch off–basically, going into athlete mode and like turning everything off."
Jerry Harris is currently being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago until the start of his trial. Gabi Butler revealed that she is still in touch with him by writing letters back and forth. She went on to say, "What I said then is exactly how I feel to this day. Like, my feelings will never change on that and I stand very strongly in what I said." Gabi discusses how his case is still open so she is hoping for the best in the situation. She continues to reiterate that she does not condone any of the allegations, but she does still have a love for her teammate. "It's more like a 'love the sinner, hate the sin' type of situation."
Gabi Butler is well aware that her opinions about Jerry Harris may come across as extremely controversial. But she does not seem to care. Harris is her family and she cannot just cut ties with someone so close to her that she's loved for so long. She wants the world to know that she doesn't think what he's accused of is right, but she will always have love for her old friend and she hopes the trial finds these allegations to be false.
Source: E! News