Ellen DeGeneres in a tearful speech urges Kobe Bryant's fans to 'celebrate life'

Ellen DeGeneres could not hold back her tears while talking about the loss of her friend Kobe Bryant and urged fans to celebrate every moment of life.

According to E! News, on Sunday Kobe and his daughter Gianna, along with seven other people, were on a helicopter that crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.

The comedian, who last sat down with the basketball player in April 2019, gave an emotional speech at the start of her daytime talk show.

Ellen said: "Today is Monday, and yesterday was Sunday. It happened to be my birthday and the Grammy Awards. I was nominated, I didn't win. Not the point. Yesterday was supposed to be a celebratory day, and then we got tragic news about Kobe Bryant, and everything changed in a second. And that's what I want to talk about."

Without holding back her tears Ellen continued and said, life is short and fragile one doesn't need to have a birthday to celebrate, just celebrate life.

"If you haven't told someone you love them, do it now. Tell people you love them. Call your friends. Text your friends. Hug them. Kiss them. Be nice to people at the DMV. They're people!" she added.

( With inputs from ANI )