Arguably the most famous face of gay marriage in California or otherwise, Ellen Degeneres released a statement expressing her disappointment in the state passing Proposition 8, which will re-ban same-sex marriage.
“This morning, when it was clear that Proposition 8 had passed in California, I can’t explain the feeling I had. I was saddened beyond belief,” Degeneres said in a statement. “Here we just had a giant step towards equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away.”
Just a few weeks before the election, during which Californians would vote to decide the fate of gay marriage either voting for Prop. 8 and banning gay marriage or voting ‘No on 8,’ Degeneres ponied up $100,000 to produce her own PSA to urge voters to vote down the proposition.
When gay marriage became legal in the state last June, Degeneres wasted no time announcing on her Emmy-winning talk show that she and her partner, actress Portia de Rossi, would tie the knot.
Degeneres and de Rossi said ‘I do’ in a private ceremony at their Hollywood Hills home but a very public People magazine spread chronicling their nuptials followed, making them the most talked about same-sex wedded couple in the country.
Regarding Tuesday’s historic election in which Barack Obama became the first African American elected to the country's highest office, Degeneres said “Watching the returns on election night was an amazing experience. Barack Obama is our new president. Change is here. I, like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step towards equality. We were watching history.”
Despite her disappointment with Prop. 8’s passage, Degeneres also expressed hope.
“I believe one day a 'ban on gay marriage' will sound totally ridiculous,” Degeneres said. “In the meantime, I will continue to speak out for equality for all of us."
