Gone but never forgotten. Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to Prince after his April 21 death, with a special segment on the Tuesday, April 26, episode of her self-titled talk show.
The comedian, 58, dedicated a touching monologue to the late music icon, revisiting his memorable appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in its very first season.
“You’ve heard me say it many times before, but the coolest part of having this job is that I get to meet incredible artists and heroes of mine, and they perform right here in front of me,” DeGeneres said on Tuesday. “And of all the bands and artists that I’ve had on the show, there was no one like Prince.”
The former sitcom actress then went on to say that it was an honor to welcome a guest of Prince’s stature during the long-running daytime hit’s early days.
“He was an artist. He was an icon, a genius, and he was kind enough to appear on my show in the very first season in 2003 — which you have to understand is a big deal, because most stars wait to see if a talk show is going to be successful,” she added. “They wait to see if it’s a cool thing to do before they say yes, so he did it on the first season, and it meant the world to me.”
Next, DeGeneres played a clip of her fun and lively interview with the pop legend from 13 years ago, as well as his in-studio performance of his classic 1986 track “Kiss.”
DeGeneres isn’t the only celebrity to honor the Purple One after his tragic passing. An endless amount of stars — including Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake — have publicly paid their respects to the seven-time Grammy winner via social media.
As Us Weekly previously reported, Prince died last Thursday at the age of 57. He was found unresponsive in an elevator inside his Paisley Park studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. His autopsy was completed on Friday, April 22; the results are still pending.
Watch the video above.
