Outgoing US president Barack Obama admits to getting ‘kinda choked up’ while presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ellen DeGeneres. ‘It’s easy to forget now just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages 20 years ago.’ Other recipients included Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bruce Springsteen and Diana Ross