Ellen DeGeneres defends sitting with 'friend' George W. Bush: 'A lot of people were mad'

Ellen DeGeneres took a moment during's Tuesday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to address the uproar around her sitting with former President George W. Bush at the Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday.

During the game against the Green Bay Packers, the camera showed the unlikely duo sitting with their respective wives in Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' suite, and Twitter went ballistic, with users calling it a "bad look" for Ellen and used it as an example of "what class solidarity looks like."

On her show, Ellen revealed that she and Portia de Rossi were invited to the game by Jones' daughter, Charlotte, and that the family had some very "fancy friends" sitting in the box with them.

"When we were invited, I was aware that I was gonna be surrounded with people from very different views and beliefs, and I'm not talking about politics: I was rooting for the Packers," DeGeneres joked. "During the game, they showed a shot of George and me laughing together, so people were upset. They thought, 'Why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?"

After quipping that viewers "didn't even notice I'm holding the brand new iPhone 11," she went on to say that she's "friends with George Bush" and celebrated having friendships with "a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs."

"A lot of people were mad, and they did what a lot of people do when they're mad: They tweet. But here's one tweet that I loved: This person says, 'Ellen and George Bush together makes me have faith in America again.' Exactly!" she continued. "Here's the thing: I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have. We're all different, and I think that we've forgotten that that's okay that we're all different."

"For instance, I wish people wouldn't wear fur," Ellen added. "I don't like it, but I'm friends with people who wear fur."

In the end, the television personality used the controversy to encourage her viewers to welcome people who are different from them and to "be kind to everyone," which has become her de facto motto in recent years.

"Just because I don't agree with someone on everything, doesn't mean that I'm not gonna be friends with them," DeGeneres explained. "When I say be kind to one another, I don't mean only the people who think the same way that you do; I mean be kind to everyone."

Of course, being Ellen, she couldn't help but end the relatively serious monologue with a joke.

"Thanks George Bush and Laura for a Sunday afternoon that was so fun," she smiled. "By the way, you owe me six dollars for the nachos!"