Is 2020 the end of Ellen DeGeneres? Here are all the 'mean' stories that destroyed the kind facade she banks on
A recent report has claimed that Ellen DeGeneres was “at the end of her rope” over a slew of mean allegations that have been thrown at the comedian. And this makes complete sense, since in recent months, celebrities, guests of her talk show and even her own personal bodyguard has bashed the TV host for her “cold” demeanor. One of her fans on Twitter even pointed out that “2020 has been the demise of her facade,” and called it “disappointing”.
However, the truth is the accusations against DeGeneres actually started pouring at the end of 2019 when American actress Dakota Johnson appeared on ‘The Ellen Show’ for a chat in December 2019.
The controversial interview
Johnson came on DeGeneres’s show in the last month of 2019. However, things went a bit rough when the 62-year-old brought the ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ star’s 30th birthday celebration into the conversation. “Happy belated birthday. How was the party? I wasn’t invited,” DeGeneres said. Her comments gave everyone a good laugh, but Johnson replied sternly, “Actually, no, that’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited.”
“I did invite you and you didn’t come,” the actress repeated. To which, DeGeneres seemed a bit surprised and hit back, saying: “This time you invited me? Are you sure? I don’t think so.” However, when the producer confirmed that Johnson had invited her but she did not go, DeGeneres said: “It was probably in Malibu, that’s too far for me to go to.”
After the interview, it emerged that DeGeneres missed the party because she was in Texas at that time, controversially sitting next to former US President George W Bush at an NFL game. She was severely criticized for that as many pointed out being a prominent gay, liberal and outspoken LGBTQ activist, it was not good for DeGeneres’ public image to sit next to the former president, who once endorsed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage.
Even actor John Cusack slammed DeGeneres and accused her of “normalizing mass murderers” through association with Bush, who entered the US into a war with Iraq under the later-disproved belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction.
However, later DeGeneres addressed the harsh criticism and said: “I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different, and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different.”
The infamous Twitter thread
Another nightmare for the actress came as recent as in March this year when writer and comedian Kevin T Porter tweeted: “Right now we all need a little kindness. You know, like Ellen DeGeneres always talks about! She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive. Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean & I’ll match every one w/ $2 to @LAFoodBank.”
Soon, Porter’s tweet went viral with thousands of replies coming in on the post. People started sharing their not-so-nice experiences with DeGeneres. TV writer Benjamin Siemon also responded to Porter’s social media post and wrote, “She has a ‘sensitive nose’ so everyone must chew gum from a bowl outside her office before talking to her and if she thinks you smell that day you have to go home and shower.
“A new staff member was told, ‘Every day she picks someone different to really hate. It’s not your fault, just suck it up for the day and she’ll be mean to someone else the next day.’ They didn’t believe it but it ended up being entirely true.”
Another prominent name who contributed to the thread was Chris Farah who claimed that she had almost got fired from her job because of DeGeneres. She took to Twitter to share, "I worked @RealFoodDaily, served her & [Portia de Rossi] at brunch. She wrote a letter to the owner & complained about my chipped nail polish. Not that it was on her plate but just that it was on my hand. I had worked till closing the night before & this was next morn, almost got me fired."
While singer Detox shared: “An old friend worked on her lot & smiled & said 'good afternoon' to her one day & she became unhinged. 'Who do you think you are? You don’t look at me,' yada yada. She said Portia was with her & seemed embarrassed & tried to calm her down. Has forever changed my opinion of her.”
'Teletubbies after dark'
DeGeneres found herself surrounded by controversies again in April when Dutch beauty guru Nikkie de Jager aka NikkieTutorials alleged that she was treated differently from the other guests on the show and compared 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' to 'Teletubbies after dark'.
Nikkie came out as a transgender at the beginning of the year and was soon invited to be a guest in the show, which had always been one of her dreams. However, she was reportedly left disappointed by her treatment in the studio, where she was greeted by an 'angry, overworked intern'. She claimed that DeGeneres did not even say hello to her as she said to an interviewer, “It's really nice that you came over and said hello to me... She didn't.”
The beauty vlogger also alleged that on the show she faced discrimination over toilet use as well. “Every guest at Ellen had a private toilet, but I didn't. I couldn't even use the closest toilet to me because it was reserved for the Jonas Brothers... They were allowed, I wasn't, I thought,” Nikkie claimed.
The quarantine ‘joke’
In April again, DeGeneres upset her fans while hosting her talk show from the comfort of her home given the Covid-19 pandemic. She started her program on a very kind note thanking medical workers and everyone else on the frontlines of the coronavirus crisis. However, later, when she tried to shift her speech on a lighter side, she joked: “This is like being in jail is what it is. Mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone here is gay!”
However, her humor did not go down well with many as several fans took to Twitter to blast DeGeneres for her privilege. “My 19-year-old daughter is considered an ‘essential employee’. She’s a fast-food worker. She’s exposed EVERY DAY. No one GAF about Ellen’s privilege Pampers a$$ stuck in her mansion. Show me @ellen working the lines @ the grocery store. NO mask, NO gloves. Then I might care,” one angry social media user tweeted.
Another commented: “Hey, Ellen, go volunteer at a grocery store or food bank. Get on the front lines if being sequestered in your mansion is just too difficult. Unbelievable.”
The unfriendly boss
A former bodyguard of DeGeneres who was assigned to protect her and her family while she was hosting the 2014 Academy Awards claimed earlier in May that he could confirm the recent allegations made by others about her unfriendly and selfish demeanor.
“Ellen pretty much just gave me a side glance out of her eye and didn’t even say 'hello,' or 'thank you for protecting my mother, my wife, and me'. It was very cold and it was very sly and it was actually kind of demeaning in the way that she treats people other than those who are in her circle," Tom Majercak revealed.
“I’m holding their hands and walking them through individuals and large groups of people. Ellen is the one person that I've been assigned to — and I’ve been assigned to quite a few celebrities – that has never taken the time to say hi to me,” Majercak added.