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00:00Good evening. It is my honor
00:03To stand before you and celebrate the remarkable generosity of my friend and American treasure
00:11Carol Burnett
00:14Yes
00:17It it's been a pleasure to be part of this evening honoring all you beautiful women Sarah Amy Zoe Bella
00:25So many of you who use your platform and currency to make a difference in the world and in
00:31Carol's case we join her tonight to praise and support the fine work of the hereditary disease Foundation
00:42And at 91 years old Carol is an example of what the kids say as
00:50unproblematic faves don't age
00:55That's for sure, but before we speak about Carol's philanthropy, let's talk about Bitcoin
01:03I'm just kidding. I
01:06Don't know what that is and frankly I refuse to learn
01:13Instead
01:14Let's talk about Carol Burnett's many characters and how they have left an indelible mark on American culture
01:22There is Eunice mrs. Wiggins
01:26Starlet O'Hara princess Winifred miss Hannigan Norma Delacorte
01:37But there are also the many parts that make up Carol Burnett the person
01:43pioneer
01:44clown
01:46captain
01:47sister wife
01:49mother and maker
01:52Carol's accomplishments. Yes
01:57Indeed
01:59Carol's accomplishments reflect a lifetime of work and an audience that has loved her since the first time we met her
02:08The first woman to host a variety talk show for a time
02:13best-selling author six Golden Globe Awards seven Emmy Awards a Tony a Grammy a Peabody Mark Twain prize
02:20SAG Lifetime Achievement Award Kennedy Center on our Presidential Medal of Freedom
02:29And
02:31five consecutive snowboarding Olympic gold medals
02:36for a parallel giant slalom
02:39Go Carol
02:42But
02:44I I want to talk tonight about Carol and the way that we all ultimately see her as
02:50a deeply
02:52human example of how compassion looks in the world a
02:58walking warm
03:01glow of light
03:02Who shares her love of life?
03:05with everyone she meets
03:08Leslie I really feel you I was obsessed with the Carol Burnett show
03:13It was so important to me and like most of us here
03:17I grew up watching Carol on television whenever you were stressed about something that was going on in your house
03:24And let's let's be real. It was the 70s. There's a lot going on
03:30You sat in front of the Carol Burnett show and it all went away
03:35The music started you were transported to a place where this chosen family of actors
03:43reveled in a incredible sense of play and
03:47leading them was this
03:50beautiful and
03:51talented captain named Carol who somehow managed to be both the funniest and
04:00Seemingly the kindest woman that you had ever seen on television
04:05You know comedy is often discussed as a place where we're challenging authority and where we
04:11disrupt
04:13deep-held beliefs it's often
04:16Presented as a place where we are supposed to make people uncomfortable and break social protocol
04:23But not enough is said about the comfort of
04:30comedy
04:32How it soothes us
04:35how it heals us if
04:40Laughter like the great writer and Lamont says is
04:44Carbonated holiness then Carol Burnett is the embodiment of the divine
04:53She
04:58Has been the best nurse
05:01with the best medicine
05:04taking the best care of us
05:07when we were sick or sad or
05:10Lonely and when Carol tugged her ear at the end of her show it felt like a message to us
05:18It said you are not alone. I
05:22Know you're out there. I see you and I'm thinking about you, too
05:29The Hereditary Disease Foundation
05:32funds research to cure Huntington's disease and other brain disorders and works
05:38Tirelessly to improve the lives of those affected by many genetic disorders
05:45Carol's involvement has amplified awareness and provided hope to countless families
05:51And it is just another example of how Carol harnesses her huge life and uses it for good
05:59Ask anyone who knows Carol they will talk about how she shows up for them
06:04ask anyone who's worked with her and they will talk about how deeply caring and
06:10Professional she is
06:12Her old friend Lucille Ball said it was Carol's honesty
06:18Believability and
06:20vulnerability that made her so special and that heart led connection is why
06:27Carol is so funny and
06:30Sadly why this speech is not
06:40I didn't want to write any jokes
06:43I I just wanted to use my time up here to thank my mother
06:51the mother
06:53Thank you, Carol. I love you. You are the reason I got in a comedy
06:59SNL owes
07:01everything to you
07:03And
07:10Young Amy Poehler would never believe that I get to call you a friend and
07:16on behalf of all of us we apologize for how tiring it must be to
07:25Constantly be the funniest person in the room
07:29Please join me in honoring Carol Burnett for her work with a hereditary disease foundation
07:33you