Ellen DeGeneres made history this week by buddying up to George W. Bush at a Dallas Cowboys football game. Instead of being reflective, and condemning her ill-thought action after some internal reflection and contemplation, DeGeneres instead, like Trump, doubled down, and tried to spin her betrayal of the human spirit by arguing she was just being “kind” to those who don’t think as she believes. All of that would have been just fine if the person you were being kind to was a real person deserving your love and respect — and who also didn’t happen to be accused of war crimes against humanity — but the real insult in the moment was in DeGeneres’ apt refusal to just admit she was using her money, and her fame, to sidle up next to a faded presidential power. This was all about corruption of the spirit in exchange for a moment in the skybox with a decider, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with kindness.

Continue reading → Ellen Degeneres: When Infamy Sucks Up to Corruption