DeGeneres tells adoring Calgary crowd that ‘the only real thing we have is love’
CALGARY She came, she spoke and she conquered the hearts of tens of thousands of Calgarians.
On Saturday evening, Ellen DeGeneres swept into the Saddledome and gave her fans everything they ’ve come to expect from the consummate entertainer and comedian. They got the laugh out loud moments, the beautiful stories that brought tears to their eyes and of course, a whole lot of dancing.
Of course, this wasn’t a crowd that needed any convincing of the fun that can be had when in the presence of the 60-year-old host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, one of the most popular daytime TV talk shows in history. The close to 15,000 fans packing the Saddledome for “A Conversation with Ellen DeGeneres” were more than familiar with her many funny skits and background as a standup comic, and of her courage in coming out as gay.
Those fans tune in by the millions to enjoy DeGeneres’s unique mix of talk, celebrity, comedy and musical performances — and of course, her penchant for dancing along with her audience.
No surprise, then, that DeGeneres kicked off the conversation with a happy song. Still, she showed her big heart from the getgo, carrying a hockey stick as she walked onto the stage.
“My heart breaks for everyone, it hurt all of us,” said DeGeneres, who carried the hockey stick in honour of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. “Let’s try to shine some light and love and dedicate this night to them.”
Host Dave Kelly played the perfect sidekick to the veteran performer. Kelly, a talented singer, dancer and actor who is a master of ceremonies fixture at Calgary fundraising events throughout the calendar year, asked DeGeneres about everything from her coming out as gay in the late 1990s to her friendship with music icon Prince and first time on the iconic Johnny Carson TV talk show.
Throughout the engaging question-and-answer session, many members of the packed arena yelled out, “We love you!” and audience members cheered and stomped their feet as DeGeneres talked about her love of pranks on her show. “I don’t ever want to grow up,” she said, “and scaring people is really fun.”
Coming out as gay, she told the crowd, meant the death of her first TV sitcom, but a freedom she’d never before known. “I had tremendous shame over the fact I was gay and hiding it,” she said, adding a dream she had about a bird in a cage convinced her to live her life out loud.
At the show’s conclusion, the down-to-earth DeGeneres offered her loyal fans some advice: “Push through any fear you have,” she said. “The only real thing we have is love.”
My heart breaks for everyone, it hurt all of us. Let’s try to shine some light and love and dedicate this night to them.