Ellen DeGeneres delivered a 2020 commencement speech to 2020 graduates in a bathrobe from her home during the pandemic.
“Since I’m home and you’re home, I thought I could say a few words to all the year’s graduates,” DeGeneres shared on the home version of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Monday, while encouraging those graduates at home to put on their caps and gowns while she grabbed hers. The host returned back on screen wearing a pink and white fluffy bathrobe. The comments were noted by the Hollywood Reporter. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
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“Class of 2020…today is the first day of the rest of your life,” she added. “Or maybe tomorrow or the day after that. Let’s call it sometime mid-June.”(RELATED: Here’s A List Of How Every Country In The World Is Responding To Coronavirus)
DeGeneres continued, “The important thing is you’ve studied incredibly hard to get to this day. If you’re graduating high school, congratulations.”
She then noted that her high school graduation was her “favorite graduation ceremony” and her “only graduation ceremony, really,” because she didn’t “graduate from college.”
“If you’re graduating from college I’m so impressed,” the host explained. “You’re 21 and you’ve already accomplished more than I have at that age. We need smart people. Actually, you don’t even have to be that smart. Just don’t tell people to drink bleach. The bar is set pretty low at this moment.”
The last comment was an apparent dig at President Donald Trump after the president made a remark about ingesting disinfectant to kill the coronavirus during a briefing. Trump has since said this was a “sarcastic” comment.
Later, the host shared some words of wisdom that she has “acquired over the years.”
“Here’s a little bit of what I know,” Ellen explained. “People who live in glass houses should never throw stones, but they should always wear pants. If you put your money where your mouth is, you might end up swallowing a penny.”
“Here’s something that I’ve learned that I hope I can help with,” she added. “It’ll put everything in perspective. There are gonna be bad times in life, like what’s happening right now.”
The talk show host continued, while noting her life, “I’ve been through some incredible highs and some tremendous lows, and the one thing that’s true about both of them is that they pass. So cherish the good times and in the bad times, remember that it won’t last forever. It does get better.”
“And for all of this year’s graduates, believe me, your best days are ahead of you,” DeGeneres shared. “I know when I’m feeling down and I’m looking for inspiration, I turn to the Dalai Lama, who said, ‘Never lose faith in the truth. In the end, everything will be all right because players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. And I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it off.'”
For those that might have missed it, the last part of her commencement speech was definitely a nod to Taylor Swift with the lyrics to her hit song, “Shake It Off.”