Barack Obama has awarded his last Presidential Medals of Freedom to a host of America's most famous faces but it's his moving tribute to Ellen DeGeneres that has got people talking.

Tom Hanks, Robert DeNiro and Diana Ross were among those to receive America's highest civilian award.

When it came to DeGeneres, Mr Obama praised the talk show host for risking her career to come out as a lesbian at a time when the LGBT community in the US was struggling to find a footing in mainstream culture.