Ellen ‘Devastated’ by Rutgers Suicide

Ellen DeGeneres, a gay-rights pioneer ever since she publicly came out in 1997, is “devastated” over the death of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who committed suicide this week after being videotaped by his classmates engaging in sexual activities with another man. “This needs to be a wakeup call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country,” DeGeneres said Thursday. “He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself… One life lost in this senseless way is tragic.” DeGeneres also noted the deaths of three other gay teens this month. New Jersey officials are exploring bias charges against the students accused of videotaping Clementi.