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Ellen DeGeneres and Kobe Bryant

Heartbreaking

Ellen DeGeneres Breaks Down In Tears Remembering Kobe Bryant

The NBA legend died on the comedian’s birthday.

Ellen DeGeneres and Kobe Bryant

Credit: The Ellen DeGeneres Show/YouTube / INSTARImages

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Ellen DeGeneres got emotional while remembering Kobe Bryant during the Monday, January 27 taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Kobe, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26, which was also Ellen’s 62nd birthday.

Ellen started the episode, which aired Tuesday, with an emotional monologue about Kobe’s death. She thanked the audience for attending the show then reflected on how “life is short.”

“Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday and it happened to be my birthday and the Grammy Awards. I was nominated. I didn’t win. Not the point,” the comedian joked as she started to cry. “Yesterday was a celebratory day and we got tragic news about Kobe Bryant and everything changed in a second.”