Ellen DeGeneres opened her show on Thursday by blasting Mississippi’s new religious freedom law, which opponents say establishes legalized discrimination against the LGBT community.
“When I see something wrong, I have to talk about it,” DeGeneres said. “It’s the same thing that I do when I see men wearing Spandex in line at Starbucks. It’s wrong and I need to discuss it.”
She went on to say that she grew up in the neighboring state of Louisiana and would often visit family in Mississippi, and hopes that LGBT people in the state will not give up hope.
“I was fired for being gay and I know what it feels like,” she said, referring to the cancellation of her sitcom “Ellen” in 1998. “I lost everything. But look at me now. I could buy that Governor’s mansion, flip it, and make a $7 million dollar profit.”
“I mean look, there’s already so much inequality in the world: women’s rights, gender pay gap, racism… I think we need to remember that we are more similar than we are different,” she continued. “And we all want the same things: love, acceptance, kindness.”
She closed the segment by saying, “I advocate for less hate and more love. Less tearing apart and more coming together. Less sitting and more dancing.”
Watch the video above.