Ellen DeGeneres hits back at Trump by explaining Finding Dory plot

The talkshow host has criticised the president’s ban on entrants to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries by highlighting the inclusivity of the first movie to screen at Trump’s White House

Ellen DeGeneres has commented on presidential policy via film plot summary. The talkshow host voiced the lead in Finding Dory, Disney’s hit animation about a forgetful fish, which was Donald Trump’s choice of the first film to screen at the White House on Sunday.

On her chatshow on Monday, DeGeneres took aim at Trump’s ban on entry into the US by citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries by pointing out the ironies of such a position, given the message the movie preaches.

Dory, she explained, is Australian, and on a mission to locate her parents, who are in America. “I don’t know what religion they are, but her dad sounds a little Jewish. It doesn’t matter,” said DeGeneres, before explaining that Dory and friends, once in America, are apparently barred from re-entry by a large wall.

“They all have to get over the wall and you won’t believe it, but that wall has almost no effect in keeping them out,” said DeGeneres.

After crossing the divide, Dory enlists fellow creatures in her search, “animals that don’t even need her. Animals that don’t have anything in common with her. They help her, even though they’re completely different colours. Because that’s what you do when you see someone in need – you help them.”

Dory, concludes DeGeneres, cannot be thwarted by physical barriers, nor by discrimination.

On Sunday, DeGeneres’s co-star in the movie, Albert Brooks, also highlighted the odd dissonance of Trump’s choice.