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Ellen DeGeneres Taking Heat for Comments about Liza Minnelli

The host of this year’s Academy Awards, Ellen DeGeneres, seemed to be a popular choice for most of the Academy and those who watched on television. But, not everyone was happy with her opening monologue, according to The Huffington Post.

Liza Minnelli, in attendance for the 75th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” because she is Judy Garland’s daughter, was the subject of one of DeGeneres’ jokes.

DeGeneres said, “Hello to the best Liza Minnelli impersonator I’ve ever seen. Good job, sir.”

It seems as though quite a few posts on Twitter talked about the joke DeGeneres made during the monologue of the show. One of those was from prominent director Bruce LaBruce.

LaBruce tweeted, “I did not appreciate Ellen’s mean joke about Liza. I found it transphobic and disrespectful.”

DeGeneres is not the only celebrity to come under fire for comments about the transgender community in the country. Transgender writer, Janet Mock, talked with CNN’s Piers Morgan last month.

After the interview, Mock went onto Twitter to criticize Morgan for “sensationalizing” her life in the package for the interview.

Katie Couric has also been criticized for questioning Carmen Carrera, a transgender model. The questions from Couric were about her ‘private parts.’ Actress Gabourey Sidibe came under fire for using a transphobic slur while a guest on the “Arsenio Hall Show.” She has since apologized for her comments.

Jim Vassallo: Jim is a freelance writer based out of the suburbs of Philadelphia in New Jersey. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, son Tony and dog Phoebe.

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