Ellen DeGeneres received the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom along with 21 other individuals on Nov. 22 to commemorate the work she has done regarding the LGBT rights throughout her career.
DeGeneres was introduced by both President Obama and a White House aide.
“"In a career spanning three decades, Ellen DeGeneres has lifted our spirits and brought joy to our lives as a stand-up comic, actor and television star," the White House aide said. "At a pivotal moment, her courage and candor helped change the hearts and minds of millions of Americans, accelerating our nation's constant drive toward equality and acceptance for all. Ellen DeGeneres has showed us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place, so long as we just keep swimming."
In addition, President Obama had kind words of his own to bestow on DeGeneres, saying, “"It's easy to forget now — when we've come so far, where now marriage is equal under the law — just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago.”
Other recipients of this aware included Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks and Diana Ross.
