However, in spite of her position as one of the country’s leading queer icons, DeGeneres’s actions of late have angered the LGBTQ community and beyond.
The backlash began when Kevin Hart visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show in early January. Despite Hart’s years-old homophobic jokes about young gay black men — which he refused to re-apologize for when they they resurfaced in December and which ultimately forced him to rescind a previously accepted offer to host the Oscars — DeGeneres encouraged him to host anyway.
On Tuesday morning, openly gay African-American Empire star, Jussie Smollett, was the victim of a supposed hate crime in Chicago. Two people yelling “this is MAGA country” reportedly accosted Smollett with racial and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around the actor’s neck.
An outpouring of support for Smollett and disgust for the acts committed against him rang out on Twitter.
Hart, too, said his piece on social media, though many were quick to comment on the hypocrisy of his statement.
RELATED: Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscars Host After Refusing to Apologize for Homophobic Comments
In 2015, Smollett came out as gay on DeGeneres’s show. In response to the violence against him, Ellen tweeted: “Four years ago, @JussieSmollett came out on my show. I’m sending him and his family so much love today.”
Fans immediately took the mogul to task:
Fellow celebrity members of the LGBTQ community challenged DeGeneres as well:
Time will only tell if DeGeneres chooses to apologize for her endorsement of Hart, but she may just be losing a key demo if her silence endures.
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