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77th Golden Globes: Ellen DeGeneres opens up about 'power of television' as she accepts the Carol Brunett Award, watch

The prestigious and dazzling 77th Golden Globe Awards 2020 took place with glamour on Sunday, January 5, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. The event played host to not just the top celebrities of Hollywood who stepped out in their stylish best, but also to the important and mind-blowing speeches by the winners. The organisers of the ceremony, that is, Hollywood Foreign Press Association honoured Ellen DeGeneres with Carol Burnett Award. The veteran television personality, in her speech, spoke about her journey to success and thanked her 'husband Mark'. She further added that people watch her show because of the power of television.

"Thank you so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press, I feel humbled and honored to receive this. The first person after Carol Burnett is quite an honor so thank you so much. It's a prestigious award, and what I like most about it is that I knew coming in I would win. I think there's nothing worse than sitting there like most of you waiting and wondering if you're gonna win and politely act like 'Oh, I'm gonna listen to everybody's speeches' like it's nice when it's not. Those people just go on and on and on and on and on...I'm not gonna do that, I'm gonna be quick...although I don't have to because it's a special award and they don't play me off. I don't have to end at all because it's a special award. They said that they were gonna give me a sign at 25 minutes and that's for my reference just to see where I was. I could go on—I'm not, I'm gonna keep it quick. I was born in New Orleans in 1958, January 26. Dr. Swanson delivered me at 8:43 in the morning, a rainy, rainy—I mean, Louisiana, heavy rain. My parents drove me home in a Buick. It wasn't a Buick, it could have been a Ford, or a Chrysler. I think it was a Buick, the point is they brought me home in a car, and before I knew it, I had a successful sitcom and I came out, and then I lost that sitcom. And then I got another sitcom, and I lost that sitcom too, and then I got to do something I had never been able to do, and that was make my own whiskey, and after that, I got a talk show and I was able to be myself. That was 17 years ago and I feel like you've all really gotten to know me over the past 17 years, I am an open book. I couldn't have done it without my husband Mark. Mark, you are my rock. Thank you for supporting me through this crazy journey. I know it wasn't easy for you or the kids—Rupert and Fiona, go to bed! I love you! That's funny because they're in college now. The important thing is that you all know me, and obvioiusly you know me or else you wouldn't have laughed at all of that. I feel like we all think we know someone— there's a connection when we watch them on TV for as long as we are on TV, and that's what it was like for me with Carol Burnett. I felt like I knew her. I felt like she showed us who she was every week. She was larger than life. We counted on her to make us feel good and she delivered every single week, she never let us down, she was hilarious in all the sketches that she did, and when she did the Q&A with the audience she was just genuine and personal, and I always felt like she was speaking to me. At the end of the show, every time she pulled her ear, I knew she was saying, 'It's okay, I'm gay too.' Television inspired and influenced everything that I am today: Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Marlow Thomas, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart—there's a little bit of all of them in me. That doesn't sound right, but you know what I'm saying. All I've ever wanted to do is make people feel good and laugh, and there's no greater feeling than when someone tells me that I've made their day better with my show, or that I've helped them get through a sickness or a hard time in their lives. But the real power of television for me is not that people watch my show, but people watch my show and then they're inspired to go out and do the same thing in their own lives. They make people laugh, or be kind, or help someone that's less fortunate than themselves, and that is the power of television and I am so, so grateful to be a part of it. Thank you so much, everybody," Ellen told during her speech.

 

Recommended Read: 77th Golden Globes Awards: Michelle Williams gives an impactful acceptance speech on choices and women rights, watch

The organisers of Golden Globe 2020, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, back in November, announced that Ellen will be receiving the award which celebrates the highest level of achievement in television. The award, named after Brunett is presented to an honoree who made outstanding contributions to the television medium on or off-screen. It was first given at Golden Globes 2019 and Ellen is the second person to receive it.  

(Source: Ellen DeGeneres Facebook)

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