Daily Times

Comedienne and television host Ellen DeGeneres praised actress Carol Burnett’s “larger than life” presence while accepting an award named after the comedy icon at the 2020 Golden Globes.

“I felt like I knew her,” DeGeneres said during her speech for the Carol Burnett Award. “I felt like she showed us who she was every week. She was larger than life. We counted on her to make us feel good, and she delivered every single week. She never let us down in the sketches that she did.”

‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’ host ended that segment of her speech with a punchline that earned uproarious laughter. “When Burnett did the Q&A with the audience, she was just genuine and personal,” she continued. “I always felt like she was speaking to me. At the end of the show, every time she pulled her ear, I knew she was saying, ‘It’s OK – I’m gay, too.”

DeGeneres, who received a poignant introduction from SNL star Kate McKinnon, snuck in some other excellent jokes. “It’s a prestigious award, and what I like most about it is that I knew coming in I would win,” she said, later joking about her non-existent husband, “Mark.”

“Mark, you are my rock,” she cracked. “Thank you for supporting me through this crazy journey. I know it wasn’t easy for you or the kids – Rupert and Fiona, go to bed. That’s funny because they’re in college now.”

She ended the speech on a more heartfelt note about her comedy aspirations. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is make people feel good and laugh, and there’s no greater feeling than when someone tells me I’ve made their day better with my show,” she said. “Or that I’ve helped them get through a sickness or a hard time in their lives. But the real power of television for me is not that people watch my show, but that people watch my show and then they’re inspired to go out and do the same thing in their own lives: They make people laugh or be kind or help someone that’s less fortunate than themselves. That is the power of television, and I’m so, so grateful to be a part of it.”