Kate McKinnon Gets Emotional Honoring Ellen DeGeneres At The 2020 Golden Globes

Before Ellen DeGeneres accepted the Carol Burnett Award for Excellence in Television at the 2020 Golden Globes, Kate McKinnon got candid on how the TV legend personally influenced her.

“In 1997, when Ellen’s sitcom was at the height of its popularity, I was in my mother’s basement lifting weights in front of the mirror and thinking, ‘Am I…gay?’ And I was,” the “Saturday Night Live” star said while presenting Ellen with the prestigious award.

Adding, “And I still am. But that’s a very scary thing to suddenly know about yourself. It’s sort of like doing ’23andMe’ and discovering that you have alien DNA. And the only thing that made it less scary was seeing Ellen on TV.”

The 61-year-old comedian paved the way for other LGBTQ performers with she came out on television back in 1997.

Kate continued: “And if I hadn’t seen her on TV, I would have thought, ‘I could never be on TV. They don’t let LGBTQ people be on TV.’ And more than that, I would have gone on thinking that I was an alien and that I maybe even didn’t have a right to be here. So thank you, Ellen, for giving me a shot at a good life.”

After Kate brought the star-studded audience to tears and a montage of Ellen’s best moments on television aired, the TV host got on stage and gave a powerful speech.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is make people feel good and laugh, and there is no greater feeling than when someone tells me that I’ve made their day better with my show, or that I’ve helped them get through a sickness or a hard time in their lives,” Ellen said.

“But the real power of television, for me, is not that people watch my show, but people watch my show and then they’re inspired to go out and do the same thing in their own lives. They make people laugh or be kind or help someone that’s less fortunate than themselves. And that is the power of television.”

Adding, “I’m so, so grateful to be a part of it.”