Jimmy Kimmel has said that Ellen
DeGeneres is everyone's gay friend.
Kimmel, the host of ABC's Jimmy
Kimmel Live!, made his remarks last week as DeGeneres was given
her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Ellen is someone that I admire. I
admire her talent. I admire the way she conducts herself at all
times, on camera and off. When unenlightened people threaten to
boycott her show, or her sponsors, simply because Ellen is honest
about who she is, she doesn't belittle them or attack them like I
would. Instead [she] engages them, she asks for understanding, she
explains that she just wants to be treated the way she treats people
– with kindness and respect,” Kimmel said, referring to the
Christian conservative group One Million Moms, which called on
JCPenney to retire DeGeneres as the company's spokesperson because
she is openly gay.
“I think that Ellen has made a
difference.”
“Some people don't have gay friends,”
Kimmel added. “Some people, for whatever reason, don't get a
chance to see that gay people aren't any different from anyone. But
they see Ellen on TV and they get to know her and maybe they start to
feel like they do have a friend. Now make no mistake, Ellen is not
your friend. Ellen is my friend, and I am unwilling to share her
with any of you.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
In accepting her star, DeGeneres
thanked her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, and mother, Betty
DeGeneres.