During her opening monologue on Thursday's show, the daytime host discussed the positive influence of social media, celebrating unity among victims of sexual harassment and assault.
On Thursday's edition of her eponymous daytime talk show, Ellen DeGeneres praised the #MeToo movement during her monologue on Thursday's show.
Commenting on the numerous women who have come forward with stories of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood in the wake of disturbing allegations about Harvey Weinstein, DeGeneres said of sexual misconduct, "This is not a male thing or a female thing. It is not a Hollywood thing or a political thing. This is a human thing. And it happens in the workplace, it happens in families, it happens all over the world, and we are all the same."
Many of these stories came out of the #MeToo movement on social media, popularized by actress Alyssa Milano, inviting men and women to share their experiences with sexual assault and harassment.
"We all want the same thing: We want respect and love and kindness, and if I can have those three things and a new iPhone 10, I will be complete," DeGeneres joked.
DeGeneres then explained that the Weinstein scandal delves into a deeper issue: gender norms enforced at a young age.
"Part of the problem is that from a young age, girls are taught to stay quiet and be nice, and that boys are stronger and somehow we are less than," the daytime host said, adding, "That is why it is hard for us to speak out — and even when we do speak out, people don't believe us. But there is power in numbers and good for us, good for everyone speaking out. I want to say thank you to everybody speaking out."
Even though many women are coming forward with their stories now, DeGeneres noted that this is an issue that has always existed, but with the power of social media, people can feel a sense of unity and freedom when sharing their experiences.
"As hard as this is to talk about, at least we are talking about it. It's not like this is a new thing," DeGeneres said. "This has been going on forever, and thanks to being connected to social media, we can see it for what it is and that we are not alone. And hopefully the conversation that we are having now will free all of us. If you are a parent, we can break the cycle and teach our little girls and our little boys that girls should be strong, boys should be kind."
Encouraging everyone to speak out, DeGeneres reminded her audience, "Hell hath no fury like a woman with a Twitter account."