--- description: Ellen DeGeneres spoke out during her show on Wednesday about controversial laws passed recently in Mississippi and North Carolina title: Ellen DeGeneres Denounces Mississippi Law as Anti-LGBT Discrimination image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaff30b02e5be2b89/69888e39524fc04514df77fe/ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ellen DeGeneres Denounces Mississippi Law as Anti-LGBT Discrimination  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 7, 2016 9:59 PM CUT  Ellen DeGeneres poses on the press room at the 2016 People's Choice Awards on January 6\. in Los Angeles, Calif. Ellen DeGeneres poses on the press room at the 2016 People's Choice Awards on January 6\. in Los Angeles, Calif.Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 7, 2016 9:59 PM CUT Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres [spoke out during her show on Wednesday](http://ellentube.com/videos/0-0wrxm7u9/ "undefined") about controversial laws passed recently in Mississippi and North Carolina, calling the former “the definition of discrimination.” The [Mississippi law](http://time.com/4282391/mississippi-law-refuse-gay-couples/ "undefined") allows public and private businesses to refuse service to gay couples based on religious beliefs. The [North Carolina law](http://time.com/4271861/north-carolina-anti-discrimination-backlash/ "undefined") prohibits local governments from enacting anti-discrimination measures to protect the LGBT community. Both have already drawn criticism from [businesses](http://time.com/4276240/bank-america-north-carolina-lgbt-discimination/ "undefined") and [elected leaders in other states](http://time.com/4272722/san-francisco-mayor-restricts-government-travel-to-north-carolina-over-discriminatory-law/ "undefined"). > [](https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/717490361778606080) **Read more:** [Why So Many States Are Fighting Over LGBT Rights in 2016](http://time.com/4277247/north-carolina-georgia-lgbt-rights-religious-liberty-bills/ "undefined") “I’m not a political person,” said DeGeneres, who is a lesbian and has long been an advocate for LGBT rights. “I’m really not, but this is not politics. This is human rights.” > [](https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/717490361778606080) “If you’re in Mississippi or North Carolina or anywhere, and you’re saddened by the fact that people are judging you based on who you love, don’t lose hope,” said DeGeneres, who grew up in neighboring Louisiana. “I was fired for being gay, and I know what it feels like. I lost everything, but look at me now. I could buy that governor’s mansion, flip it and make a $7 million profit.” Watch the full video [here](http://ellentube.com/videos/0-0wrxm7u9/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/"},"headline":"Ellen DeGeneres Denounces Mississippi Law as Anti-LGBT Discrimination","datePublished":"2016-04-07T21:59:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:34:06.814Z","description":"\"This is not politics. This is human rights.\"","url":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaff30b02e5be2b89/69888e39524fc04514df77fe/ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaff30b02e5be2b89/69888e39524fc04514df77fe/ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People's Choice Awards 2016 - Press Room","caption":"People's Choice Awards 2016 - Press Room","creditText":"Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/","name":"Ellen DeGeneres Denounces Mississippi Law as Anti-LGBT Discrimination"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"North Carolina Gives Local Governments the Right to Discriminate","description":"North Carolina lawmakers called a one-day session to pass a law making it impossible for local governments to pass their own anti-discrimination laws after a law passed in Charlotte giving transgender people the right to choose which bathroom...","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oweJ28Vr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-24T23:15:11.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oweJ28Vr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4286050/ellen-degeneres-mississippi-law-lgbt/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```