Witherspoon, Kristen Bell and Jameela Jamil are slammed by Twitter users for supporting DeGeneres who defends her friendship with the former president, while Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon agree that Bush doesn't deserve such kindness.

• Oct 10, 2019

AceShowbiz - Celebrities are entangled in a Twitter drama involving Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush. The likes of Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Bell and Jameela Jamil have weighed in on the TV host's friendship with the former president which land them in their own controversies, while Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon are among those who disagree with DeGeneres.

Following the "Finding Dory" star's plea for kindness on Bush, Witherspoon supported DeGeneres in a now-deleted tweet, "Thank you for this important reminder, Ellen!" But many other Twitter users don't agree with her.

"The privilege reeks," one commented on Witherspoon's tweet. "There are thousands of people in the middle east that don't get to be friends with people with 'different views' because they're dead thanks to him. And he spent his presidency trying to strip away LGBT rights, so nah. This monologue is pure class privilege."

Another wrote, "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."

Similar to the "Big Little Lies" star, Bell defended DeGeneres' friendship with Bush. Sharing a side-by-side picture of the comedian and the former president, the actress wrote on Instagram, "She's my [queen]."

Her post was met with demands to remove it. Someone also pointed out why they couldn't accept DeGeneres' explanation of her friendship with Bush, "He orchestrated an unnecessary war that killed thousands and supported Kavanaugh's confirmation and is anti-gay marriage. Yes it's important to have relationships with people who don't only agree with you, but it is absurd to frame it this way."

Jamil praised DeGeneres' response to the backlash she received, posting on Twitter, "I've never seen someone in the public eye handle something like this, in this way. And use it to make what is actually an incredibly necessary point in our society. It was just very strong and interesting. We explore this in season 4 of The Good Place."

After she got called out for her initial response, the British actress deleted it and explained herself, "Ooooof learning today about the full extent of Bush's heinous presidency... we weren't taught much about him at school, we just heard he was stupid...(we were dealing with our own epic nightmare of a prime minister back then). What a monstrous leader. I now understand the rage.."

Meanwhile, Ruffalo has publicly called out the comedian for her comments on Bush. "Sorry, until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War, (including American-lead torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars-emotional & otherwise-inflicted on our military that served his folly), we can't even begin to talk about kindness," he wrote on Twitter.

Sarandon tweeted a quote from Out Magazine's response to DeGeneres' statements. It read, "But missing the point entirely, DeGeneres framed the issue as simply a matter of her hanging out with someone with different opinions, not a man repeatedly accused of being a war criminal."

DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi were pictured sitting next to Bush and his wife Laura at a Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday, October 6. After it sparked people's outrage, the former "American Idol" judge said on her talk show, "Here's the thing: I'm friends with George Bush, in fact I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have. We are all different and I think we've forgotten that that's OK that we're all different."

"Just because I don't agree with someone on everything does not mean I'm not going to be friends with them," she added. "When I say be kind to one another, I don't mean only the people that think the same as you do, I mean be kind to everyone."

Bush responded by saying he "appreciated" DeGeneres' remarks about respect. His spokesman, Freddy Ford, additionally told Fox News on Tuesday, "President and Mrs. Bush really enjoyed being with Ellen and Portia and appreciated Ellen's comments about respecting one another. They respect her."