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Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen Among The 21 Recipients President Obama Presented With The Presidential Medal Of Freedom

By Amy Coleman
Published on: 13:29 PST, Nov 22, 2016

President Barack Obama presented 21 individuals with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during his final ceremony on Tuesday. The final Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony of President Barack Obama could be described as both diverse and star-studded as some of the luminaries included Michael Jordan, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Standing beside these well-known stars in the White House included architect Frank Gehry, computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, and sculpture and landscape artist Maya Lin. TIME reports President Barack Obama “seemed to get a kick” out of presenting the medal to these 21 individuals when he called them a “really good class”.

Before the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony took place, Ellen DeGeneres learned the hard way that even when you are famous you still need to have identification to get into the White House. Ellen posted a picture of herself sitting outside of the White House with a caption about how they hadn’t let her in yet because she left her ID at home.

Ellen even tagged the picture with two hashtags: #NotJoking and #PresidentialMedalOfFreedom

After the ceremony, Ellen did post a follow-up picture with herself wearing the medal.

According to the Washington Post, President Barack Obama has officially set a record for awarding more Medals of Freedom than any other president. The Washington Post estimates that President Barack Obama has awarded roughly 114 medals by the end of the ceremony on Tuesday. The media outlet goes on to explain the reason why the number is only an estimate is because there are some cases where two individuals receive one medal for a joint effort.

See the full ceremony here:

It was not until the Reagan administration that presidents began to have larger Medal of Freedom ceremonies where several individuals were presented with a medal at one time. Since the Reagan administration, it became common for the ceremony to include five or more recipients of the medal.

President Barack Obama took things to a new level with an average of 12 medals per ceremony. Obama also handed out roughly 14 more medals than any other president ever has in a single year. It is possible the decision to present 21 different individuals with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony was Obama’s way of “going out with a bang”.

The Washington Post goes on to report President Barack Obama has presented more nonwhite recipients with a Presidential Medal of Freedom than any other president. Notably, Obama has also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to more women than any other president as well. In total, he has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 44 nonwhite recipients and 41 females.

A complete list of the 21 individuals President Barack Obama presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom can be found below:

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  • Elouise Cobell
  • Ellen DeGeneres
  • Robert De Niro
  • Richard Garwin
  • Bill and Melinda Gates
  • Frank Gehry
  • Margaret H. Hamilton
  • Tom Hanks
  • Grace Hopper
  • Michael Jordan
  • Maya Lin
  • Lorne Michaels
  • Newt Minow
  • Eduardo Padrón
  • Robert Redford
  • Diana Ross
  • Vin Scully
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Cicely Tyson

“Everybody on this stage has touched me in a very powerful, very personal way,” Obama said. “These are folks who have helped make me who I am.”

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, confirmed Obama had personally put a great deal of thought into each of the 21 individuals he presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Earnest went on to say that there would be no arguing that the 21 individuals are “richly deserving” of the medal.

What do you think about the fact that President Barack Obama presented 21 individuals with a Presidential Medal of Freedom? Do you think the medal loses any value when it is given to so many people? Which of the recipients do you think is most deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Are there any recipients on the list who you do not think should have received a medal? Share your thoughts on the final Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony of President Barack Obama with us in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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