- Ellen DeGeneres and radio personality Howard Stern shared a kiss during DeGeneres' "The Ellen Show" on Monday, in order to distract from the controversy surrounding the talk show host's friendship with former president George W. Bush.
- Stern tried to help DeGeneres remedy the situation by offering to kiss her.
- "The problem is — and this is a brilliant booking on your part, having me on the show — people have this picture in their mind of you and George Bush. What you need to do, in my opinion, is take a picture with me, making out with me," Stern said.
- Even though DeGeneres seemed hesitant at first — and tried to change the subject — Stern was persistent.
- "Honey, once people see me with you, no one's going to be thinking about George Bush," he told the talk show host, adding, "Kiss me."
- After DeGeneres ascertained there would be "no tongue," and revealed the last man she'd kissed was "probably Colin Farrell [or] Leo DiCaprio," the two finally locked lips.
- "This is the picture that's going to make America forget that you were sitting next to George W. Bush," Stern said of the kiss.
- DeGeneres had previously come under fire earlier in October after photos surfaced of her and George W. Bush laughing while seated next to each other at a football game.
- People called out the talk show host for being friendly with the problematic former president, and accused her of being a hypocrite after her previous comments about refusing to allow Donald Trump on her show resurfaced.
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- Read more:
- People are calling out Ellen DeGeneres for sitting next to former president George W. Bush at a football game
- Ellen DeGeneres has defended her friendship with George W. Bush: 'I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have'
- People are calling Ellen DeGeneres a hypocrite after comments she made about Trump 2 years ago resurfaced amid backlash about her friendship with George W. Bush
- Mark Ruffalo just made it clear he does not support Ellen DeGeneres' friendship with George W. Bush
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