Internet reacts to Ellen DeGeneres laughing with former President George W. Bush
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was photographed on Sunday at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas watching the Dallas Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers with her wife, Portia De Rossi on one side. On the other? Former President George W. Bush.
The two were filmed and photographed laughing together in a private box, and some people had strong reactions to America’s favorite lesbian hanging out with a man who backed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Journalist Parker Molloy was the first to point out the pair were together in a since-deleted tweet. She also noted in another now-deleted tweet that DeGeneres and Bush were hanging out just two days before the Supreme Court (on which now sits Bush’s former staff secretary Brett Kavanaugh, whom Bush supported through his Supreme Court nomination) is about to “hear a case about whether it will be legal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in employment.”
Actor John Cusack did not mince words in a tweet, writing, “F*** normalizing mass murderers,” presumably referring to the Iraq War, which started during Bush’s presidency. The number of Iraqi dead ranges from hundreds of thousands to over a million depending on estimates.
Oscar nominated director Josh Fox wasn’t a fan of the two hobnobbing either, asking: “How does it feel to watch a game with a mass murdering genocidal war criminal?”
Hey @TheEllenShow - how does it feel to watch a game with a mass murdering genocidal war criminal? https://t.co/tIdWrBGFBQ
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) October 7, 2019
Other people on Twitter didn’t seem to feel it was a big deal, and were into the whole unity of the moment. One wrote, “that’s the America I want to live in.”
Ellen DeGeneres is sitting next to George Dubya at a football game and that’s the America I want to live in. pic.twitter.com/4t213lk3im
— Brent Wainscott (@BrentWainscott_) October 6, 2019
One woman thought it was the best part of the game noting, “the best friends we never knew we needed.”
The best part about this #Cowboys game is seeing @TheEllenShow and George W. Bush hanging out... I’m shook... the best friends we never knew we needed pic.twitter.com/4UrZ9Jeroj
— Caroline Hoff 🎃 (@carolinehoff8) October 6, 2019
Most people just seemed surprised by seeing the two together.
Laura & George Bush sitting with Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi is not something I expected to see at an NFL game pic.twitter.com/AbWbhXd3RC
— Paid man gets bored (@cjzero) October 6, 2019
Wider shots seem to show the former president, a Texas native, was attending the game with his wife, Laura Bush, and DeGeneres was with hers, in addition to other guests.
Only at the Cowboys game: George and Laura Bush singing the National Anthem with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. ‘Merica! @fox4sports pic.twitter.com/X03931Mx7i
— John Gnann (@kdfw07) October 6, 2019
This isn’t the first time the two have been in the same room together. Bush appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show back in March of 2017 to talk about his dogs reacted to Vladimir Putin.
Podcaster Nima Shirazi shared a few photos of the two together as well, writing that DeGeneres has “long been instrumental in the living room resurrection of this war criminal into a goofy grandpa.”
To be clear, this is not new for Ellen. @TheEllenShow has long been instrumental in the living room resurrection of this war criminal into a goofy grandpa. pic.twitter.com/GL5wzLqWlN
— Nima Shirazi (@WideAsleepNima) October 7, 2019
Since the end of his presidency, George W. Bush has been humanized by his daughters and wife, love of painting and friendship with Michelle Obama (which has received similar split feedback to DeGeneres’ relationship).
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