DeGeneres laments gay marriage ban in Calif.

Talk-show host says she's ‘saddened beyond belief’

Celebrity video

Big changes in store for Oprah?
Nov. 8: Is the queen of daytime television preparing to give up her popular talk show to focus on her own cable network? NBC’s Kevin Tibbles reports, then Rolling Stone contributor Toure and CNBC’s Carmen Wong Ulrich join Jenna Wolfe to discuss the financial and cultural impact of a potential move.

Fans walk out on Spears in Australia

One-on-one with Hulk Hogan

Fran Drescher dishes on her love life

Brokaw, Hanks relaunch WWII Museum

Harden unveils ‘Big Book of Dreams’

Slideshow

Best and worst celebrity fashions of 2009
From glamorous gowns to stylish suits to complete fashion failures, a look at the year so far.

more photos

updated 10:46 p.m. ET Nov. 5, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Ellen DeGeneres says she is “saddened beyond belief” by the passage of a constitutional amendment in California banning gay marriage.

The talk show host said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press that she, “like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality” by electing Barack Obama as president.

DeGeneres says that with the passage of California’s Proposition 8, “we took a giant step away.”

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

DeGeneres wed actress Portia de Rossi in August, following a May Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in California.

She contributed $100,000 to fight the amendment on Tuesday’s ballot.

DeGeneres asserts she will “continue to speak out for equality for all of us.”