Ellen DeGeneres and former President George W. Bush sat next to each other in a private box at AT&T Stadium Sunday, during the Dallas Cowboys‘ game against the Green Bay Packers. The unlikely image of the two sitting next to each other made for perfect fodder among Twitter users. Some made jokes about it, while others sought to remind people of Bush’s actions in office.
Just Ellen DeGeneres hanging out with her buddy George W. Bush, taking in a football game. pic.twitter.com/lBjKUDypAP
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 6, 2019
DeGeneres and her wife, Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi, sat next to Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush in the private box. The two were briefly shown on the Fox broadcast, and the image quickly went viral.
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George W. Bush sitting next to Ellen watching Packers @ Cowboys lmao pic.twitter.com/7H5nMSRTE2
— Damon J. Kecman (@DownWithDamon) October 6, 2019
Seeing DeGeneres sit next to Bush was particularly jarring for some, considering Bush’s record on LGBT rights during his presidency. In 2004, during his re-election campaign, Bush called for a ban on same-sex marriage after it was legalized in Massachusetts. In 2006, a proposed Constitutional amendment to make same-sex marriage illegal was voted on in the House of Representatives, but it did not pass and was never voted on by the entire Senate. In 2015, Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage legal in the U.S.
As Ellen is a gleeful participant in the George W. Bush Rehabilitation Project, I’d just like to point out George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election relied upon pushing state ballot initiatives banning Same-Sex Marriage and pushing for a Constitutional Amendment banning it. pic.twitter.com/LYxHPgeFXZ
— Kevin D. Grüssing (Pronounced Grew-Sing) (@KevDGrussing) October 6, 2019
Would you listen to this podcast? #GBvsDAL pic.twitter.com/uuu135jjeM
— The Ringer (@ringer) October 6, 2019
George W. Bush cracking jokes with Ellen at the #GBvsDAL game is the best thing to happen this year pic.twitter.com/lv0zziy8MD
— Nathan Lotze (@PrinceOfFresh) October 6, 2019
I would absolutely watch this sitcom though pic.twitter.com/3v3V5Xz01N
— Paid man gets bored (@cjzero) October 6, 2019
As for DeGeneres, she made the landmark decision to come out as gay in 1997. Today, she is the most popular daytime television talkshow host thanks to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which launched in 2003.
According to the Star-Telegram, retired NASCAR driver Danica Patrick was also in the box. She is now dating Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Bush making a play on Ellen.
Bush eating a pretzel.Two things with a low success rate 😂#GBvsDAL #NFLSunday pic.twitter.com/eN4w7WhqGi
— GIPHY Sports (@GIPHYSports) October 6, 2019
I know everyone’s mad that Ellen was hanging out with George W Bush but if I had the opportunity to attend a football game with a war criminal I would decline so fast https://t.co/MfrMW0R4fr
— Paulina Logan Ⓥ 🎃👻 (@paulinalogan) October 7, 2019
Only at the Cowboys game: George and Laura Bush singing the National Anthem with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. ‘Merica! @fox4sports pic.twitter.com/X03931Mx7i
— John Gnann (@kdfw07) October 6, 2019
The star support for the Cowboys did not help the team. Rodgers led the Packers to a 34-24 victory, and the Cowboys dropped to 3-2.
Photo credit: Fox
