A Complete Timeline of the Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush Drama

From Good Housekeeping

• Over the weekend, Ellen Degeneres sat next to George W. Bush at a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

• Following criticism on Twitter, the TV show host explained why her friendship with the former President has "restored people's faith in America again."

• Celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Bell, and Jameela Jamil initially offered heartfelt messages to DeGeneres, but many have taken back their support after backlash.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is a weekday respite for many people. This week, however, the Ellen DeGeneres is at the center of her own controversy that has everyone — including celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo — talking.

So, why is there beef between DeGeneres and, well, the rest of Hollywood (not to mention, everyone on Twitter)? Here's a complete timeline to bring you up to date.

Sunday, October 6: Ellen DeGeneres attends a Dallas Cowboys Game with George W. Bush.

According to her monologue on Tuesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (more on that later), she was invited to attend the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers game with her wife, Portia de Rossi. In a seemingly innocent video, DeGeneres revealed that she was sitting in the Dallas Cowboys suite with the team's owner Jerry Jones and his wife, along with President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush.

Fans watching the game were quick to point out this unexpected seating arrangement.

And then the criticism came rolling in. Many people took to Twitter to question why DeGeneres would voluntarily sit next to "a war criminal who pushed anti-LGBTQ legislation."

Tuesday, October 8: DeGeneres responds to criticism with a now-viral monologue.

After taking a day to come up with her response, DeGeneres opened Tuesday's show with a monologue focusing on the importance of her friendship with Bush rather than the controversy.

Her hope? That their unlikely pairing would give Americans faith. "I'm friends with George. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have," she said. "We're all different, and I think that we've forgotten that that's okay that we're all different. Just because I don't agree with someone on everything doesn't mean that I'm not going to be friends with them. When I say, 'be kind to one another' I don't mean only the people who think the same way you do. I mean, be kind to everyone."

George W. Bush thanks DeGeneres for the kind words.

In response to her monologue, the spokesperson for the President and his family made the following statement on Fox News: "President and Mrs. Bush really enjoyed being with Ellen and Portia [de Rossi] and appreciated Ellen’s comments about respecting one another. They respect her."

Kristen Bell, Reese Witherspoon, and others offer public support.

Her message soon went viral, causing Hollywood A-listers like Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, and Lenny Kravitz to praise DeGeneres' response.

Actresses Kristen Bell and Reese Witherspoon went one step further by dedicating separate Instagram and Twitter posts to the situation.

Wednesday, October 9: Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon slam DeGeneres' message.

Even in the sea of praise from her peers, there were many people who still wanted answers. The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo fired back with a tweet calling out #43's complicated past. "We can't even begin to talk about kindness," he wrote.

This single tweet opened the floodgates for more people, including actress Susan Sarandon to voice similar opinions.

Reese Witherspoon deletes her message of support.

In just a matter of 24 hours, the conversation flipped from a moment to spread kindness to, well, the opposite. That means that high-profile stars — Bell and Witherspoon especially — were subject to scrutiny for their initial comments.

Fans flooded Witherspoon's initial tweets with comments targeted toward her own privilege: "I have to take issue with this, with all due respect. There's nothing wrong with being friends with people of different beliefs, but there is something wrong with being friends with someone who has hurt you and your community without remorse or a change," one Twitter user wrote.

The criticism ultimately caused the actress to delete her original tweet.

Bell still hasn't commented on the controversy, but the comments on her recent Instagram post are very similar to Witherspoon's. "Oof. Nope. Differing opinions is one thing. An opinion that intentionally oppresses or harms another life? NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. You’re better than this," someone wrote.

Thursday, October 10: Joy Behar and the ladies of The View weigh in.

Joy, Whoopi Goldberg, Meaghan McCain, and the other co-hosts of The View, discussed the situation on their show. While Abby Huntsman found nothing wrong with the photo, Joy said: "I always said I didn't want to get to know George W. Bush because I knew I would like him. I knew I would because he seems like a likable kind of guy, But if you lost a child in Iraq then you don't like him so much. And I don't see myself hanging out with Donald Trump anytime in this lifetime."

However, Whoopi disagreed, noting that Ellen likely didn't have a say in where she sat, and that we have to give people the benefit of the doubt. "If you're not going to give people the opportunity to at least try to change or try to grow ... if you want to dump on everything they do because you think it's bad, then maybe you should be living their life and they should be living yours."

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