Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has lashed out at Mississippi’s new so-called religious freedom law, which will allow discrimination against LGBT people.
Addressing the audience on her show, DeGeneres, who grew up in the South, insisted that the issue was not about politics but about “human rights. And when I see something wrong, I have to talk about it.”
She pointed out that while the law might sound good “because the word ‘freedom’ is in it”, it is actually “the definition of discrimination…
“It is also something the Supreme Court already ruled on when they made marriage a right for everyone. Everyone,” said DeGeneres.
“The Supreme Court said the same thing that Diana Ross and The Supremes said a long time ago: ‘Stop, in the name of love.’ And now, Mississippi is saying, ‘I don’t second that emotion’’.
The law was signed by Governor Phil Bryant on Tuesday. It allows anyone in the state who cites their religious beliefs to deny LGBT people marriage, adoption and foster care services and to refuse to employ them or rent or sell them property.
DeGeneres went on to urge LGBT Mississippians to not lose hope. “I was fired for being gay and I know what it feels like. I lost everything. But look at me now. I could buy that governor’s mansion, flip it and make a $7 million dollar profit!”
“I think we need to remember that we are more similar than we are different, and we all want the same things – love, acceptance, kindness… And I want one of those new Teslas!”
