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TV star Ellen DeGeneres shells out for airtime
Ellen against Proposition 8
Ellen DeGeneres spends thousands on airtime to promote gay marriage
"I got married. It was the happiest day of my life... There are people out there raising millions of dollars to try and take that right away from me "
Emmy winning lesbian TV star Ellen DeGeneres has spent $100,000 on televised airtime to ask viewers to support gay marriage.
In the adverts DeGeneres addresses the Proposition 8 initiative, which seeks to “eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."
In May of this year the California Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriages, which promoted Ellen and her long-term partner actress Portia de Rossi to marry. However, opponents of gay marriage collected more than a million signatures to secure the initiative a place on the 4th November ballot for re-evaluation.
Following her marriage in August, Ellen said
""I got to do something this year I never thought I’d ever be able to do: I got married. It was the happiest day of my life
"There are people out there raising millions of dollars to try and take that right away from me.
"I believe in fairness. I believe in compassion. I believe in equality for all people. Proposition 8 does not.
The TV star is just one of a number of high profile celebrities who have openly criticised Proposition 8. Others involved include Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, Mayor of LA Antonio Villaraigoso and leading internet company Google.
Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian in 1997 when she featured on the cover of Time magazine with the headline, ‘Yes I’m Gay’.
Her successful show Ellen was cancelled after it suffered a slump in ratings after the lead character Ellen Morgan (played by DeGeneres) came out as a lesbian.
However, despite this and facing hostility from the Christian Right, DeGeneres has gone on to build an illustrious career as an actress, talk show host, presenter and comedienne and has been nominated for a total of three Golden Globes to date.
