The Golden Globes will honor Ellen
DeGeneres with its Carol Burnett Award for Lifetime Achievement in
Television.
The award is given to those who have
“made outstanding contributions to the television medium on or off
the screen.”
According to The
Wrap, DeGeneres is the second honoree to receive the award
behind Carol Burnett, who was honored last year.
In its announcement, the Hollywood
Foreign Press Association described DeGeneres as an “advocate and
philanthropist” who uses her platform to help others by “spreading
kindness and joy.”
DeGeneres' Hollywood career came to a
halt after she came out gay in 1997 on the cover of Time
magazine. Her announcement coincided with the coming out of the
character she played on her ABC sitcom Ellen, the first openly
lesbian character on network television. DeGeneres debuted her
daytime talk show in 2003.
The 2020 Golden Globes will be held on
Sunday, January 5.