A fall from grace
For almost two decades, Ellen Degeneres was the queen of daytime TV. She won over people's hearts with her sarcastic humor and silly antics. But one day, everything changed—and to get to the root of what caused her downfall, we need to go behind the scenes of her talk show.
Ellen is reportedly not as nice as people think
In 2020, a comedian named Kevin T. Porter took to Twitter to crowdsource stories of Ellen being mean to people. In his post, he said she was "notoriously one of the meanest people alive." He promised to donate $2 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for every story he received.
A shocking number of responses came in
Porter's call-out received around 2,000 replies, but they were mostly reactions. It was hard for him to tell the real stories from the fake ones, so he just decided to donate $600 for 300 responses that seemed supported by evidence. He also shared a receipt screenshot to prove he really did donate the money.
One fan claimed Ellen gave away her gift
Danielle Acevedo shared that she participated in a contest for The Ellen DeGeneres Show when she was 15. Teh contest asked fans to create a realistic bust of the talk show host. Weeks later, her bust was featured on one of the episodes—but instead of Ellen keeping it as a keepsake, she gave it away to random person with $500 attached to the bottom.
Another fan claimed Ellen almost got her fired
Chris Farah, another fan of Ellen, said that she used to work as a server at a restaurant that Ellen frequented. She had served Ellen during one of her shifts; then the next day, her manager asked to speak with her. Apparently, Ellen had written a letter to the owner complaining about her chipped nail polish—and she almost got fired for it.
Her own writers turned against her
It wasn't just her fans who had stories—her own writers also joined in on the conversation. Benjamin Siemon was one of the writers on her show, and he had much to share. He claimed Ellen has a "sensitive nose" and made people chew gum from a bowl outside her office before talking to her. She'd also tell people she thought smelled bad to "go home and shower."
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
There was allegedly a new "target" every day
Siemon also alleged that she would bully someone new every day. He tweeted: "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."
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Her bodyguard had some things to say, too
At the 2014 Oscars, professional bodyguard Tom Majercak was assigned to protect Ellen, her spouse Portia de Rossi, and Ellen's mother. He said Portia was kind, but Ellen was not—apparently, she lacked basic courtesy towards him, despite his efforts to engage with her.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
The bodyguard spoke to Fox News
Tom elaborated in an interview with Fox News, saying: "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."
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
The infamous dress code
Audience members felt the tension on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, too. Those who came to watch the show live reported a dress code that was so strictly enforced, security would deny entry to those who did not follow it.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Clothing do's and don'ts
Appropriate wear would include dressing in trendy business casual attire, avoiding dull colors like black and white, not wearing any 'Ellen' merchandise or clothing with prominent logos, and not matching outfits with your audience partner.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Record companies sued the show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show was known for its lively dancing segments, but in 2009, Ellen faced legal trouble when she was sued for using over a thousand songs without permission. The show did not obtain licenses for these songs, leading to a lawsuit from recording companies.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
But she still kept on dancing
Somehow, Ellen's team was able to resolve the issue with the recording companies and the lawsuit was later dropped—but the situation did make people wonder what other shady business the show got up to.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Then came another lawsuit
Ellen's typically lighthearted humor took a turn when she mocked a real estate agent's name on her show, leading to harassing phone calls for the agent. Despite a lawsuit filed for emotional distress, the judge dismissed it, finding no fault in Ellen's jokes. Though known for her harmless humor, some found these particular jokes to be mean-spirited.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Celebrity guests began speaking out
Ellen was known for her friendly on-screen personality, yet she faced criticism from guests like YouTuber NikkieTutorials and The Bachelor's Corinne Olympios for allegedly being unwelcoming and unfriendly off-camera.
NikkieTutorials and Corrine Olympios
NikkieTutorials shared her negative experience of not being allowed to use a designated restroom and receiving cold treatment from Ellen before filming. Olympios also claimed to have experienced similar behavior, revealing another side of Ellen that people never knew about before.
California Photographer, Flickr
Kathy Griffin wrote it in one of her books
Kathy Griffin also criticized Ellen, hinting at her mean nature in one of her books. Ellen apparently called her to complain about what she had written, but Kathy refused to change her stance.
gdcgraphics, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Kathy vs. Ellen feud continues
Later, in an Access Hollywood interview, Kathy went into more details about the phone call: "'Ellen, this is my experience with you,' I said. 'You've been mean to me. I'm not saying you're a mean person across the board, but you can't, like, take my story away. It's, like, my experience."
Dakota Johnson calls Ellen out
In one episode where Dakota Johnson was the guest, Ellen claimed she wasn't invited to her birthday party. Dakota immediately called her out for being dishonest, stating she had indeed sent Ellen an invitation.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
"Actually no, that's the not the truth, Ellen"
Dakota responded, "Actually no, that's the not the truth, Ellen. You were invited. Last time I was on the show, last year, you gave me a bunch of s*** about not inviting you. But I didn't even know you wanted to be invited."
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
More celebritiy disagreements
Since that interview, other celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Jameela Jamil, and Susan Sarandon came out and openly criticized Ellen, especially for socializing with President George W. Bush at a Cowboys football game in 2019.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Controversy during the pandemic
Viewers expect Ellen's kindness to extend to her crew, but they allegedly received no communication or updates on payment during the coronavirus outbreak. Ellen even chose to film from home with an outside tech company instead of rehiring her original team.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Stuck in her big, fancy mansion
Not only did her original team feel betrayed, but Ellen made things worse by making a tasteless joke about staying at home. She said having to quarantine in her $27-million mansion felt like being in jail. Naturally, her words sparked a national outrage for their insensitivity.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
The BuzzFeed News article that changed everything
In 2020, a BuzzFeed News article was published detailing allegations of workplace misconduct and a "toxic workplace environment" at The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The report included claims of inappropriate behavior by producers and leaders.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Warner Bros. conducts an internal investigation
WarnerMedia was forced to conduct interviews with current and former employees. Still, producer Andy Lassner denied rumors of the show being canceled on Twitter.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Ellen almost pulled the plug on her show much earlier
Ellen cancelled her show in 2022, but apparently she had been wanting to endl it much sooner. In 2016, Ellen revealed to The New York Times that she almost pulled the plug her show that year despite her thriving career at the time.
Conflicting advice from her inner circle
She received differing viewpoints from her wife, Portia de Rossi, and her brother, Vance DeGeneres, causing her to go back and forth on leaving. Her brother wanted her to keep the show running, but Portia believed she could do without it.
Trump was a factor in her decision
Ultimately, Ellen decided to extend her contract until 2020, with her brother advocating for her to stay for the nation's benefit during Trump's presidency. For a comedian like herself, it made sense for her to stick around during that era.
Warner Bros., The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2022)
Portia thinks Ellen has more to give
On the other side of the coin, Portia de Rossi, Ellen's wife, said this to The New York Times: “I just think she’s such a brilliant actress and stand-up that it doesn’t have to be this talk show for her creativity. There are other things she could tackle."
Pulicciano, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ellen doesn't care what people think of her
Ellen admitted in the same interview that she was becoming less concerned with being liked. She tried proving this by showing her willingness to address controversial topics and uncomfortable conflicts in her career. Unfortunately, it was that "I don't care" attitude that led to her downfall. It's unclear if this is still how she feels today.
