ELLEN says Hollywood has a long way to go regarding minorities. RUBEN V. NEPALES
LOS ANGELES—In this second part of our column on Ellen DeGeneres, the beloved entertainer talks about how she wields her power (“I can lift heavy things,” she jokes), the need for diversity in Hollywood, her environmentalism advocacy and more.
READ: Finding humor, substance in Ellen DeGeneres
The host-comedienne, who plays the title role in Pixar’s “Finding Dory,” also addressed the talk that there is a lesbian couple in the animated film directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane.
Excerpts from our interview at Montage Beverly Hills Hotel:
When you came out, it was a big deal. How has Hollywood’s attitude toward gays, women and minorities changed?
We have a long way to go. Not everybody is represented on television and film, obviously. We need more diversity—we need more people representing what is happening in the world. So it goes with the writers, then the studios to approve those things and get those pictures made. Because there are a lot of people who aren’t being seen.
This is slowly changing, but I do think we have a long way to go.
Did you hear about talk of a gay couple as characters in “Finding Dory”?
I heard about it recently. I got the call before this interview. They said, “Just so you know, there’s a rumor out there that the movie has the first lesbian couple.” I had seen the film once before and I didn’t see it myself—and, usually, I’m pretty good at spotting lesbians.
So, when I watched the movie last night, I knew the scene they were talking about, so I was looking for it and noticed that there were two women. I noticed that one of them had a very bad short haircut and I was like, “How dare they?” (laughs) Like, just because she has a bad short haircut doesn’t mean she’s a lesbian. Anyway, I don’t know if that’s intentional. But I know there is a stingray in the movie that becomes “Sting Rhonda.” So look for that.
Can you talk about your efforts toward environmentalism?
I have been an advocate for a very long time, for the planet in general—taking care of everything, from our oceans to our forests, air pollution… I have spoken about it on the show many times… about making sure that we protect our sharks, because they’re important. They control the ecosystem in the ocean. If people aren’t aware of that, they should do some educating themselves on learning what sharks do, because they keep it in balance and keep it clean.
Shark finning is horrible. We have way too many things to learn about the ocean. That’s an entire world. There are parts of the ocean we haven’t even been to that probably have all kinds of cures for diseases, and answers to all kinds of things. So, we need to protect the ocean in many ways; be careful with those spills, because [they’re] a big problem.
You mentioned that when you were younger, you didn’t have anybody to look up to. How did you cope? How does wife Portia de Rossi help you overcome difficulties?
Whatever your environment is, if you don’t know any different, that is what it is. I didn’t know that I didn’t have anybody to go to—I didn’t know anything was wrong until I got older.
Obviously, therapy helps, but you look back and go, oh, I could have used a bit of help here. So, it took me a while to look back on that. At the time, it was what it was. Then, as I got older, I did some soul-searching and read a lot of books. I believed that there’s a power that is bigger and more than us. And I trust that.
Now that I have love in my life, and you can’t really get anything from someone unless you have something to give, so I come to it as a whole person, which I wasn’t ever before. We support and believe in each other.
You and Kate Middleton are related (they’re 15th cousins, as reported by Time magazine).
Yes, we are. She refuses to admit it—I don’t know why (laughs). But I am going to Wimbledon to sit in the royal box, and if my cousin Kate is there, I am going to bring the DNA chart with me. It wasn’t my idea. Someone brought my chart and surprised me… and said that Kate Middleton and I are distant cousins.
I have mentioned it on the show a couple of times, and I have not heard from her. I don’t know if she thinks I’m joking, but I will confront her.
“FINDING Dory”
You have a lot of power. How do you use it?
I can lift heavy things (laughs). I don’t think about that, really. I know that I have a platform, and I’m careful what I do with that, because I don’t want to be political. That isn’t who I am.
But I do want to represent kindness. I am very anti-bullying, anti-judgmental and anti-mean-spirited people. I use my platform for good. I use my power for showing that we should focus on the things we have in common versus separating what someone likes and what you don’t like.
I love that I look out in my audience and see all kinds of people. It’s weird—I don’t think about the fact that I have a lot of power, but I do know I have a lot of eyeballs on me every day. So I am careful with that.
What is the one story that you would like to tell over and over again?
Right now, it’s going to be this time I spent with you—because this has been so much fun. I can’t tell you how much fun this has been. I have been asked the same questions over and over (in other interviews). I hope I don’t tell the same story over and over again. I hope I don’t become that person. But, I really have enjoyed this!
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.