The world is inarguably a better place with 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Ellen Degeneres in it. Case in point: the talk show host regularly surprises her more socially disadvantaged guests with jaw-dropping, (keyword:) useful gifts. Remember that time she and Walmart handed out college scholarships to the entire senior class of a Brooklyn charter school? The woman puts Michael Scott to shame.
For her latest act of awesomeness, Ellen invited 12-year-old singing sensation Reuben de Maid on her show. Reuben, who hails from Llandaff, Wales, blew the audience away with his rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” before sitting down to chat with Ellen about makeup, which he loves “just as much as singing.”
“Ever since I was eight, I [have been] so interested,” explained the aspiring makeup mogul. “And I [would] watch my phone for hours on end just learning from tutorials, like blogs, and seeing how to do it.” (That time investment certainly paid off — his contour rivals Kylie’s.)
Unfortunately, when Reuben wore makeup to school, many of his peers reacted unkindly. “I used to get bullied a lot,” he told Ellen. “I had friends, but not a lot. In my drama group, I used to get hit, punched and kicked…Then after two months, I tried to brush it off, but brushing it off just doesn’t work. So I stood up to them and I told my mom.”
Needless to say, Ellen’s response was on point. “Good for you for not stopping being who you are,” she said. “The fact that just because you want to wear makeup, that somebody thinks they have to hit you or even call you names — it’s not hurting anybody, it’s what you want to do. And you look fantastic.”
What happened next? To help Reuben achieve his dream of becoming the next, say, James Charles, Ellen presented the prodigy with his own super-luxe makeup tutorial station, featuring a desk, a new laptop and a lighting kit (very necessary). Watch Reuben’s reaction in the video below, then follow his soon-to-explode YouTube channel for further updates.
[ via Mic ]
