Updated at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday with more context.

WASHINGTON — A video of Rep. Beto O'Rourke defending the rights of NFL players to kneel during the national anthem landed him an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Sept. 5.

The El Paso Democrat's response to a question during an Aug. 10 town hall in Houston went viral last week, earning mentions from celebrities including basketball star LeBron James, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, actor Kevin Bacon, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner and DeGeneres. As of Tuesday, the video had been viewed 17.9 million times on Twitter and more than 25 million times on Facebook.

Sen. Ted Cruz, O'Rourke's Republican opponent in November, has seized on the video. Cruz called O'Rourke's perspective "markedly out of step with the vast majority of Texans" during a campaign stop in The Colony on Monday.

A man who identified himself as a veteran from a family of veterans told the congressman at the Houston town hall that he is deeply offended when football players take a knee as "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played before each game. He asked if O'Rourke agreed.

"My short answer is no, I don't think it's disrespectful," O'Rourke replied. "Reasonable people can disagree on this issue — let's begin there. And it makes them no less American for them to come down on a different conclusion."

DeGeneres tweeted about O'Rourke on Aug. 22, writing, "I would like to meet you."

Several prominent liberal politicians have appeared on DeGeneres' daytime talk show, including former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They all danced during their appearances, but it's unclear if O'Rourke will follow suit.

O'Rourke stoked controversy earlier this year after an appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, in which he agreed with Maher's assertion that Cruz is "a giant [expletive]"

"That's true," O'Rourke replied.

O'Rourke said in an interview with The New York Times published several weeks later that he "was just moving the conversation along."

"Anyhow, I don't think that Ted Cruz is an [expletive]," O'Rourke said.

Even before the video went viral, Cruz was depicting O'Rourke as a darling of Hollywood elites. An appearance on DeGeneres' show will provide fodder for that line of attack.

"Beto raising big $$ from Hollywood by supporting NFL protests of the national anthem. But in Texas? Vast majority of Texans stand for the flag, honor our veterans, and support the brave men & women of law enforcement. People can protest without disrespecting the flag," Cruz tweeted Aug. 23.

Beto raising big $$ from Hollywood by supporting NFL protests of the national anthem. But in Texas? Vast majority of Texans stand for the flag, honor our veterans, and support the brave men & women of law enforcement. People can protest without disrespecting the flag. https://t.co/edvin6ButL — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 23, 2018

Cruz also released an internet ad Monday using clips of O'Rourke's response interspersed with a speech by a Vietnam combat veteran, retired Marine Corps Sgt. Tim Lee, who lost both legs when he stepped on a land mine.

"I gave two legs for this country. I’m not able to stand. But I sure expect you to stand for me when the National Anthem is being played." - @marinetimlee #TXSen #IStand — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 27, 2018

"I gave two legs to this country. I'm not able to stand," Lee said in the ad. "But I sure expect you to stand for me when that national anthem is being played."

Cruz made a high-profile foray into late-night comedy with his appearance in the "Blobfish Basketball Classic" with Jimmy Kimmel in June. Both Cruz and Kimmel pledged $10,000 to charity after the game, which Cruz won 11-9.