Ellen DeGeneres defends sitting with former President George W. Bush at football game
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is facing backlash after being spotted with former President George W. Bush at a NFL game. Fox New contributor Lawrence Jones reacts.
Actresses Reese Witherspoon, Susan Sarandon and Kristen Bell are speaking out about Ellen DeGeneres' recent comments on former President George W. Bush — but in very different ways.
This weekend, DeGeneres, 61, took heat on social media for attending a Dallas Cowboys game with Bush, 73. On Tuesday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," DeGeneres addressed the backlash.
ELLEN DEGENERES STANDS UP TO TWITTER MOB, DEFENDS APPEARING WITH 'FRIEND' GEORGE W. BUSH
“I have friends who don’t think the same things that I do," DeGeneres said. "When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people who think the same way you do, I mean be kind to everyone."
"Thelma & Louise" star Sarandon tweeted a quote from Out Magazine's response to DeGeneres' statements, highlighting a portion that read: “But missing the point entirely, DeGeneres framed the issue as simply a matter of her hanging out with someone with different opinions, not a man repeatedly accused of being a war criminal.”
Sarandon, 73, wasn't the only celebrity to speak out, however. Actresses Witherspoon, 43, and Bell, 39, voiced their opinions in support of DeGeneres. The two are now being called out for backing the "Finding Dory" star.
"Thank you for this important reminder, Ellen!" the "Legally Blonde" star wrote in response to DeGeneres' comments, in a tweet that she apparently deleted later.
One Twitter user commented on Witherspoon's tweet, saying: "The privilege reeks. There are thousands of people in the middle east that don't get to be friends with people with 'different views' because they're dead thanks to him. And he spent his presidency trying to strip away LGBT rights, so nah. This monologue is pure class privilege."
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Another wrote, "I have to take issue with this, with all due respect. There's nothing wrong with being friends with people of different beliefs, but there IS something wrong with being friends with someone who has hurt you and your community without remorse or a change,"
Other responses read: "it is a privilege to be able to set aside the real life harm and oppression bc it does not affect you and befriend someone like that" to "Reese no" and "Reese, I 💓 you, but honey, this ain't it."
Meanwhile, Bell posted a side-by-side picture of DeGeneres and Bush on Instagram, saying, "She's my 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑"
Several people commented on the post. Among them were people calling for the post to be deleted and pointing out what they called Bell's "privilege."
"Why are celebs using this as an opportunity to let their privilege jump out," one user wrote.
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Another said: "He orchestrated an unnecessary war that killed thousands and supported Kavanaugh's confirmation and is anti-gay marriage. Yes it's important to have relationships with people who don't only agree with you, but it is absurd to frame it this way."
Following DeGeneres' remarks, former President Bush said he "appreciated" DeGeneres' remarks about respect.
"President and Mrs. Bush really enjoyed being with Ellen and Portia [de Rossi] and appreciated Ellen’s comments about respecting one another. They respect her," Bush's spokesman, Freddy Ford, told Fox News on Tuesday.
Yet another celeb has jumped into the fray: Mark Ruffalo.
In a tweet, Ruffalo condemned DeGeneres' comments, saying, "...Until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War ... we can’t even begin to talk about kindness."
Fox News' Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report
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