Ellen DeGeneres is the latest celebrity to join the #MeToo movement, which people are using to shed light on sexual harassment.
“I will say it out loud right now — me too,” DeGeneres said in Thursday’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” “This is not a male thing or a female thing, this is not a Hollywood thing or a political thing — it is a human thing, 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, love and kindness. And if I could have those three things and an iPhone X, I would be complete.”
The comedian then went on to talk about the fact that girls are taught to stay quiet and be nice from a very early age, that’s why “it’s hard for us to speak out” about sexual harassment.
There is power in numbers, good for everyone speaking out,” DeGeneres said before explaining that women and men are sharing their stories of harassment and assault on Facebook and Twitter. Alyssa Milano brought the hashtag to the forefront over the weekend in light of allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein.
Explaining that she’s not sure whether to use a crying face emoji or a smiley face emoji to respond to these posts, DeGeneres added, “Hell hath no fury like a woman with a Twitter account,” referencing the play “The Mourning Bride” by William Congreve.
Watch the video above.
On the same episode, actress Laura Dern said she was sexually assaulted at age 14. “It was my mom who said, ‘No, no, no, Laura: That was sexual assault. That was harassment. That was assault. No, you were 14 then,’” she said on Wednesday’s “Ellen.” You can watch that segment here.