Back in October, Ellen Degeneres and George W. Bush sat next to each other at an NFL game, and the internet seemed less than thrilled about their unlikely friendship.
Within days, Ellen was forced to confront the criticism and defend herself with a monologue on her show, which was applauded by several other celebs. Now, Michelle Obama is stepping forward to defend Ellen's friendship with George Bush as well.
Not only were they seated next to each other, however, they also seemed surprisingly friendly.
For obvious reasons, this was not a sight anyone expected to see.
The backlash from fans did not go unnoticed, and it didn't take long for Ellen to address the complaints on her show.
"It may not seem like a big deal for a celebrity to attend a football game — but uh — I never leave my house, so, it is a big deal," she joked, hoping to soften the blow.
"We get to sit in this very fancy suite, 'cause you know, he owns the whole place. His suite is fancy and he's got fancy friends."
"When we were invited, I was aware that I was going to be surrounded by people with very different views and beliefs."
"They thought 'Why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative republican president?'"
"Here's the thing," she went on. "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."
"Just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them," she concluded.
The backlash hasn't let up.
“Sorry, until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War, (including American-lead torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars-emotional & otherwise-inflicted on our military that served his folly), we can’t even begin to talk about kindness,” he wrote.
She began by bringing up her own friendship with the former president.
"The highs and the lows and we shared stories about our kids and about our parents."
“We disagreed on policy, but we don’t disagree on humanity. We don’t disagree about love and compassion."
"I think that’s true for all of us, it’s just that we get lost in our fear of what’s different.”
Is it appropriate for her or Ellen to advocate for their friendship with him?
Let us know in the comments below.
