WATCH: Ellen's Twain Prize Speech

Ellen DeGeneres was named the 15th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, for which she gave her speech in Washington D.C. this past Monday night. (The event will be broadcasted on PBS 30 October.)

Ellen was celebrated by a number of her peers, including another lesbian funny lady, Jane Lynch, who praised DeGeneres for "opening the doors" by coming out in 1997, when the world of entertainment was still one giant closet: “She went out there with a machete, metaphorically, and blazed a trail for everybody else when she came out of the closet.... She was the one who stood up and was counted…the path today that I walk has been cleared by her.”

Here is Ellen's speech--enjoy!