Ellen FaceTimed Oprah to discuss the devastating mudslides in their neighborhood
The other day, Ellen DeGeneres joked the other day about losing the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Oprah at the 2018 Golden Globes. The two women share a couple major similarities. Aside from both being influential talk show hosts, they’re also neighbors who have both been affected by the Montecito mudslides.
DeGeneres shared her personal account of the mudslides on her show and decided to ring up Oprah to give her audience even more information on how the community is suffering from the devastating natural disaster.
“Sunday night, Portia [De Rossi] and I got a call that we were under mandatory evacuation again with most of the community of Montecito,” DeGeneres first explained. “Again we evacuated because they feared mudslides. After everything we’d been through I think a lot of people thought they were just being overly cautious, but exactly what they feared happened.”
Not only have homes been destroyed, but lives are also being lost due to the Montecito mudslides. According to the Los Angeles Times, at the time of publication, 17 people had died and 28 were injured. Around 300 people were stuck in their homes due to the debris. This all started around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, when heavy rain caused soil and boulders to dislodge.
DeGeneres FaceTimed with Oprah to help illustrate how the Montecito mudslides were affecting their neighbors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmPnCZcOHAc?feature=oembed
DeGeneres accidentally hung up on Oprah at first, which managed to get some laughs from the audience. But that mood quickly changed around when Oprah illustrated how the community needed help.
"I am...here," Oprah said. "All of my neighbors’ homes are gutted...The neighbors out back, their houses are gone."
Luckily, Oprah tried to stay positive about the destruction and tried hard to figure out a plan for moving forward.
"We’re going to come together, and we’re going to do what great Americans do all the time," she said. "We’re going to help each other."
If you’re looking for ways to help, consider donating to the charity Direct Relief, located directly in California. They help provide medical supplies for those who have been victims of natural disasters and would be a good way to aid the many victims.
