Ellen DeGeneres gets emotional as she pays tribute to the late Kobe Bryant on her show Tuesday.
DeGeneres explains how the show is filmed in advance, telling viewers how she’d been celebrating her 62nd birthday when she heard the tragic news.
Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, were two of nine victims who died in a helicopter crash Sunday in Calabasas, California.
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DeGeneres shares, “Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday and it happened to be my birthday and the Grammy Awards. I was nominated. I didn’t win. Not the point.
“Yesterday was a celebratory day and we got tragic news about Kobe Bryant and everything changed in a second.
“That’s what I want to talk about: Life is short and it’s fragile. And we don’t know how many birthdays we have. We don’t have to have a birthday to celebrate. Just celebrate life.
“If you haven’t told someone you love them, do it now. Tell people you love them. Call your friends. Text your friends. Hug them. Kiss them.”
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DeGeneres also sends love to her wife Portia de Rossi and her staff, saying: “I know that I’m lucky to have a wife who loves me so much, even though I don’t have a Grammy. I get to come to work every single day with people who make me laugh. I love everybody I work with.”
Kobe and Gianna are survived by his wife of almost 20 years Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.
