Talk show mega-star Ellen DeGeneres used the plot of her animated movie Finding Dory to slam President Donald Trump’s executive order, which temporarily suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
“If you haven’t heard, this is what happened over the weekend: On Friday, the president gave an order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States, including people with green cards. Then on Saturday, the President screened Finding Dory at the White House,” DeGeneres explained to her studio audience on Tuesday. “I don’t get political, but I will say that I am against one of those two things.”
“Finding Dory is about a fish named Dory. Dory lives in Australia, and these are her parents, and they live in America. And I don’t know what religion they are, but her dad sounds a little Jewish. It doesn’t matter,” said DeGeneres, who played a transgender stingray in the Disney film.
“Dory arrives in America with her friends Marlin and Nemo. She ends up at the Marine Life Institute behind a large wall. They all have to get over the wall, and you won’t believe it, but that wall has almost no effect in keeping them out,” she joked.
“Even though Dory gets into America, she ends up separated from her family, but the other animals help Dory–animals that don’t even need her, animals that don’t have anything in common with her. They help her, even though they’re completely different colors because that’s what you do when you see someone in need; you help them,” DeGeneres continued. “So that is what I hope everyone who’s watching Finding Dory has learned”:
The 59-year-old Hillary Clinton supporter’s commentary about Trump’s refugee policy followed her more-pointed criticism, which she shared on social media during the weekend.
“For me, America is great because of all the people who came here. Not in spite of them,” DeGeneres tweeted to her 65 million Twitter followers, along with the hashtag #NoBan:
“P.S. My grandparents were immigrants. The woman making us pizza right now is Muslim. And I’m grateful for all of them. #NoBan,” she added:
Despite the celebrity-backed protests to Trump immigration and refugee policies, a majority of Americans agree with the President’s temporary halt on refugees from terror-laden countries.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson.
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