Last week we squirmed through what was easily the most awkward interview we’ve ever seen Ellen DeGeneres conduct on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The interview was with Dakota Johnson and quickly went pear-shaped when Ellen accused the Fifty Shades Of Grey star of not inviting Ellen to her birthday party.
Dakota firmly corrected her, saying “Actually, no, that’s not the truth Ellen. You were invited.”
The conversation became even more awkward as Ellen went through a show of seeming unconvinced: “This time you invited me? Are you sure?”
She checked with her production crew – who confirmed she had – all in front of the studio audience.
“Why didn’t I come?” Ellen then asked.
“You were out of town,” a crew member yelled back.
“Oh yeah, I had that thing,” the talk show host said.
As it turns out “that thing” was a trip to Texas where Ellen controversially sat next to former US president George W. Bush at an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.
Dakota’s birthday party was held on October 5, and a number of stars attended including Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Miley Cyrus, Chris Martin (who Dakota is said to be back together with) and even Chris Martin’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow.
The NFL game had been a PR nightmare for Ellen, who was slammed for sitting next to Bush. Many accused the talk show host – a prominent gay, liberal and outspoken LGBT activist – for cosying up with the former Republican president, who once endorsed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and also entered the United States into a war with Iraq and Afghanistan under the later-disproved belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Ellen addressed the backlash she received from the public on her talk show, saying: “When we were invited, I was aware I was gonna be surrounded by people from very different views and beliefs and I’m not talking politics…
“During the game, they showed a shot of George and me laughing together, so people were upset. They thought, ‘Why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?'”
“Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush,” she continued.
“In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that we’re all different. For instance, I wish people wouldn’t wear fur. I don’t like it, but I’m friends with people who wear fur and I’m friends with people who are furry, as a matter of fact.
“But just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean I’m not gonna be friends with them,” DeGeneres continued. “When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone. It doesn’t matter.”
It seems, in retrospect, she might have been better to have attended Dakota’s birthday party.
