As seen on the Instagram stories and Facebook posts of many friends, family, and classmates a couple weeks ago, Ellen Degeneres, household name, American comedian, activist, TV show host, actress, writer and producer has recently defended herself on her self-named talk show about why she shouldn’t be criticized for hanging with former US President George W. Bush at the Cowboys football game. Ellen’s argument included that her friendship as a “gay Hollywood liberal” with a “conservative Republican president” is more than acceptable because she is “friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same belief that I have. We’re all different and I think we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFfnd0gUPic
Ellen Degeneres is often referred to as America’s Sweetheart, especially on her show, and while I have been a fan of Ellen for many years because of her good work, spirit, and promotion of kindness in this world, her recent remarks rubbed me the wrong way, seemingly hypocritical on many different levels.
This controversy stems from the political positions of former US President George W. Bush, specifically his anti-LGBTQ stances. During his term as President, Bush felt and expressed his strong opposition of same-sex marriage, and even campaigned with a promise to create an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would make same-sex marriage illegal, giving only room for civil unions on the state level. Other stances, such as his thoughts on abortion, gun control, and homeland security differ so greatly from those of the liberal views that Ellen upholds and promotes so frequently as an activist and popular TV personality.
But why does this matter so much?
Why is it weird to be friends with someone with such polar opposite beliefs?
What irked me the most was the nonchalance that encapsulated Ellen’s defense on her show. Usually, Ellen tends to stay away from politically charged messages on her show, as one hoping to have a stable career in Hollywood would do, but she didn’t stray from keeping her actions from being politically controversial. Ellen is a well known public figure and to be hanging out with anyone means that she thinks it’s okay to publicize their relationship and most likely, approves of this person to be seen with her and reported with her. But this person she hung out with at a football game is one who believes that her marriage to her wife should be illegal and has proclaimed hateful views through a political campaign targeted at the community Ellen is apart of. Bush has also actively tried to set back the LGBTQ+ community efforts from gaining rights such as marriage and the ability to adopt children.
Photo by yoav hornung on Unsplash
When considering these things, it is almost a slap in the face to the LGBTQ+ community, a community that Ellen considerably vouches for and most importantly, whether she likes it or not, represents on a worldwide scale. Kindness and acceptance of other people’s beliefs are important in creating peace in this world and spreading compassion and love for others, but do George Bush’s beliefs participate in peace?
Does Ellen not see that she is not just hanging out with someone who is part of a different political party or religion but is promoting a relationship with someone who has hate and malice for her own community? In this political climate more than ever, it is important to stand against hate and social injustice. Should the defense of just another innocent friendship with someone with different political opinions cut it in this situation? Or should Ellen be more careful about what kind of friendships she publicly promotes considering the community, people, and values she represents daily?