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Ellen DeGeneres called 11-year-old boy 'fat' when she was 20, Internet tells accuser stop being a 'cry baby'

A new set of allegations emerged against the host where a 52-year-old man says he was bullied by DeGeneres when he was 11 at his mother's firm
PUBLISHED AUG 7, 2020
Ellen DeGeneres (Getty Images)
Ellen DeGeneres (Getty Images)

Trouble seems to just keep increasing for television host Ellen DeGeneres, every day. From allegations of toxic work culture to sexual harassment at work and the accusations that the host was aware of everything going on behind the scenes at her eponymous show – the claims against her have been rising at a steady pace. DeGeneres herself has been accused of peculiar and "unfriendly" behavior towards her staff. Adding to the long list, the latest allegation comes from Ben Gravolet. In an interview with DailyMailTV, he revealed that he was allegedly bullied by DeGeneres when he was just 11.

According to the report, DeGeneres, who was 20 at that time, used to work as a recruiter at Gravolet's mother's firm and called him "fat", "stupid" and even "took pleasure" in seeing him in distress. She even made fun of the clothes worn by Gravolet. He said in the interview that he would dread going to the office after school or if he was sick because of DeGeneres' presence.

He said in the interview, “I was just a boy and this was a grown woman who took pleasure in seeing me become visibly upset. I don't think there's any excuse for it. I was a defenseless kid. What could I have told her back?” Gravolet added that it affected him because she was older than him and he said, “It has an effect if somebody in a superior position to you, who's much older, goes 'You're fat. You might want to lose some of that weight chunky boy.' I was always self-conscious about my weight and it made things worse."

Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles, California (Getty Images)

Now, the 52-year-old man and father-of-three is the vice president of a New Orleans marketing agency. He alleged in the interview that DeGeneres "was just the meanest, nastiest, most horrible person." He reminisced about this one incident where he was sitting next to DeGeneres' desk and drawing and the comedian made snarky remarks about him. "She said, 'I guess that would look nice if you could draw'," said Gravolet, according to the report. He further said, "As I watched her meteoric rise to fame, people would say how great she was and all I could think was she must be an incredible actor because she was one of the vilest people I've ever met in my life. Who takes pleasure in giving a child pain?"

With these fresh allegations, the Internet got another chance to discuss the ongoing events for which the host has been in the news. Twitter seemed to be in a sarcastic and suspicious mood. One user mocked saying, "Soon the class action lawsuits against Ellen will be starting up soon...... did you get molested by a religious teacher or Boy Scout leader? No....Bullied by Ellen, then call us at 1-800-AmbulanceChaser."



 

One wanted to cancel Ellen. The user wrote: "Ellen DeGeneres, #bully, at 20, showed hatred of #children, by bullying 11-year-old, calling him 'fat' and 'stupid', when she was employed by the boy's mother. #EllenDeGeneres was fired by his mom. #cancelEllen #WarnerBros."



 

Then there were those who were highly suspicious about the timing of this man coming out with his story. One wrote: "Seriously...what a crybaby. At 20 we are very immature young adults. People change with age and maturity. She can be a b***h (I consider myself one) and be a good person."



 

Another concurrred, "Yes people can change, bosses hurt employees feelings they get stressed things get said it’s happened to me, we would suck it up move on an be fine the next day it’s just what we did, I may be wrong but I don’t believe she's this mean, it would have come out long ago!@TheEllenShow."



 

One questioned, "If this is true then what a horrible thing to happen especially as a child, but really why has it taken all these years to come out? I understand these sorts of issues can take time to come to terms with but funny that whilst shes bein hounded about her character he sells a story."



 

Another commented, "Let’s leave the cry baby out of the issue at hand. Wants his two minutes of fame. Oh wah people call me names too. Says more about them than me so learn to idgaf people. Good grief."



 

One user stated, "I've never been a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, but who cares now if she insulted and bullied an 11-year-old boy when she was 20? Why on earth should we judge someone today for something nasty they allegedly did 40 years ago?"



 

A user said, "She's been famous for a long time so why's he now decided to tell his story. It's like everyone wants to have a kick at her whiles she's down."



 

Recently, after the barrage of backlash, DeGeneres' wife Portia de Rossi and her brother Vance spoke out in support of the host. Vance shared in his social media posts across multiple platforms, "If you think Ellen would knowingly allow bullying or racism on her show, you don’t know my sister. She has been and continues to be a bright light in a dark world. She’s one of the kindest, most generous people you’ll ever meet. And one of the funniest."

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