Watch | Ellen’s powerful condemnation of Mississippi’s new anti-LGBT law
By Ben Kelly
Ellen DeGeneres used the opening monologue on her talk show yesterday to express her concern about the new anti-LGBT law which has been introduced in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
Interspersed with her trademark humour, Ellen addressed the issue saying, “When I see something wrong I have to talk about it.”
She claimed, “I’m not a political person, I’m really not, but this is not politics, it’s human rights,” adding that the issue was personal to her.
Explaining the new Religious Liberty Accommodations Act, Ellen described how it can be used to deny LGBT people marriage, adoption and foster care services, fire or refuse to employ them, and decline to rent or sell them property.
“That is the definition of discrimination,” she said, to audience applause, “it is also something the Supreme Court already ruled on when they made marriage a right for everyone. Everyone.”
She also discussed her own personal experience of growing up in the south, and begged viewers who live in that part of the country not to despair.
“If you’re in Mississippi or North Carolina, or anywhere, and you’re saddened by the fact that people are judging you based on who you love, don’t lose hope. I was fired for being gay and I know what it feels like. I lost everything, but look at me now.”
The popular TV star, who came out in 1997, said, “We need to remember that we are more similar than we are different, and we all want the same things: love, acceptance and kindness.”
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