Ellen DeGeneres Joins 'Me Too' Movement, Discusses Sexual Harassment
Ellen DeGeneres is breaking her silence.
The comedian opened up about her own personal experience with sexual harassment and assault when she joined the #MeToo movement on Twitter earlier this week, and spoke out about this issue during her monologue on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which aired on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.
"I think it's brave," DeGeneres began, referring to everyone coming forward. "I think it's important to speak out and not be shamed by anyone. It is not always easy, but we have to do that. That is why I posted and I will say it right now out loud — me too."
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 17, 2017
"This is not a male thing or a female thing. It is not a Hollywood thing or a political thing. This is a human thing," she continued. "And it happens in the workplace, it happens in families, it happens all over the world, and we are all the same. We all want the same thing — we want respect and love and kindness. And if I could have those three things — and a new iPhone 10 — I would be complete."
DeGeneres also argued that "part of the problem" is that "girls are taught to stay quiet and be nice," meanwhile "boys are stronger and somehow, [girls] are less than." She added, "It's not like this is a new thing; it has been going on forever."
"Hopefully the conversations we're having now will free all of us," the talk show host concluded. "If you're a parent, we can break the cycle and teach our little girls and our little boys that girls should be strong [and] boys should be kind."
As Nicki Swift previously reported, Charmed star Alyssa Milano began the #MeToo movement in reaction to disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's ongoing sexual assault scandal. In her original tweet, shared on Sunday, Oct. 15, she asked women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted to write "me too" in their status to "give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem." The hashtag has since amassed tens of thousands of responses.