Ellen DeGeneres has defended herself after coming under fire for sitting next to former president George W. Bush at Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys football game.
The comedian posted a clip from Tuesday’s pre-recorded show to Twitter where she addressed the tweetstorm that came her way, captioning the video: ‘Yes, that was me at the Cowboys game with George W. Bush over the weekend. Here’s the whole story.’
‘Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have,’ DeGeneres said.
‘We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different… but just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them,’ she added.
Ellen DeGeneres defended herself after coming under fire for sitting next to former president George W. Bush at Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys football game
The comedian posted a clip from Tuesday’s pre-recorded show to Twitter where she addressed the tweetstorm that came her way
DeGeneres even shared a video she took from the seats, panning to show her view of the stadium which then lands on a wide-mouthed Bush
The daytime talk show host explained that she and her wife Portia de Rossi were invited to the game by Charlotte Jones, daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
‘When we were invited, I was aware that I was going to be surrounded with people from very different views and beliefs. And I’m not talking about politics… I was rooting for the Packers,’ DeGeneres joked in her monologue. ‘So I had to hide my cheese hat in Portia’s purse.’
The couple were sitting in a private suite owned Jerry Jones while DeGeneres was right next to Bush and his wife Laura and Charlotte Jones was opposite de Rossi.
DeGeneres even shared a video she took from the seats, panning to show her view of the stadium which then lands on a wide-mouthed Bush.
The unlikely pair were briefly shown on the Fox broadcast of the game and photos of Bush and DeGeneres chatting and laughing together quickly went viral.
Several viewers took to social media to express their mixed feelings about Bush and DeGeneres sitting together, and the comedian noticed.
‘People were upset,’ DeGeneres said. ‘They thought, why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president? A lot of people were mad. And they did what people do when they’re mad… they tweet.’
ESPN commentator Clinton Yates tweeted: ‘Ellen sitting next to Dubya definitely qualified as a Sunday shocker.’
Another tweeted: ‘Name a more weird couple.’
While a lot of people laughed at the pair, others were angry that DeGeneres sat with Bush
‘The mess he helped create we’re still trying to dig out of,’ journalist, Aaron Rupar tweeted
Writer and activist Parker Molloy called DeGeneres’ decision to hang out with Bush a ‘bold choice’
Others joked that they would watch a sitcom featuring DeGeneres and Bush.
One person wrote: ‘George W. Bush cracking jokes with Ellen at the #GBvsDAL game is the best thing to happen this year.’
Writer and activist Parker Molloy called DeGeneres’ decision to hang out with Bush a ‘bold choice’.
But DeGeneres read a tweet that she said was her favorite.
‘Ellen and George Bush together makes me have faith in America again,’ it read.
She notably edited the original tweet, cutting out the user’s ‘HAHAHA’ precursor before the touching comment.
Others weren’t so supportive about DeGeneres sitting with Bush.
But DeGeneres read a tweet that she said was her favorite: ‘Ellen and George Bush together makes me have faith in America again’
She notably edited the original tweet, cutting out the user’s ‘HAHAHA’ precursor before the touching comment
‘I don’t care how nice of a guy George W Bush is. He was one of our worst presidents and left our country and world in bad shape. The mess he helped create we’re still trying to dig out of,’ journalist, Aaron Rupar tweeted. ‘This is a bad look for @TheEllenShow.’
Writer and activist Parker Molloy called DeGeneres’ decision to hang out with Bush a ‘bold choice’.
DeGeneres said: ‘When I say be kind to one another I don’t mean only the people that think the same way you do.’
She concluded by thanking Charlotte and Jerry Jones as well as George and Laura Bush for a ‘Sunday afternoon that was so fun,’ but added that they owe her ‘six dollars for the nachos.’