Ellen DeGeneres responds to viral clip of her yukking it up with George W. Bush
Ellen DeGeneres wants you to know that she is friends with George W. Bush. In fact, she says in a new statement responding to a viral photo of her and the former president, she is friends with a lot of people who don’t share her views or beliefs. The two were spotted at a Dallas Cowboys game last weekend, and those who look up to Ellen as an advocate for the LGBTQ community found themselves confused and, in some cases, angry.
In her statement, she explained that she was invited along with her wife, Portia de Rossi, to attend the game by the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. They were seated in a suite with a lot of “fancy” people, including George and Laura Bush. So, that’s the mystery of how a gay Hollywood liberal and a conservative Republican president ended up side-by-side at the game. Rich people sit together.
DeGeneres addressed the outrage after a crack about people not even noticing her brand new iPhone 11—oh, you rich people—saying, “We’re all different and we’ve forgotten that it’s okay that we’re all different.”
She compares her being pals with a war criminal who actively fought against the rights of LGBTQ people to being friends with someone who wears fur, even if she doesn’t like fur herself. A bit of a stretch, that. She ends the monologue thusly: “When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone. Even people who are already playing Christmas music.” Again, not the same thing, but alright.
Watch her full response below.
Per TMZ, Bush appreciated Ellen’s response and even said they took a few selfies together. Just like the kids do!