People are starting to call out famed comedian Ellen DeGeneres, pictured with wife Portia de Rossi, but are the claims fair to the beloved comedian? Photo / Getty Images
People are starting to call out famed comedian Ellen DeGeneres, pictured with wife Portia de Rossi, but are the claims fair to the beloved comedian? Photo / Getty Images
A former staffer of famed comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres has come out claiming the stories of her shocking behind-the-scenes behaviour are true.
According to the New York Post, the world's richest comedian is also one of the rudest.
"Is she always nice? No," said the former staffer. "It irritates me that people think she's all sweetness and light and she gets away with it."
The 62-year-old star, who tells viewers at the end of every one of her shows, to "be kind", may find her run as a Hollywood "good sort" is about to end.
Recently DeGeneres was called out over a joke she made about comparing being in lockdown to "being in jail". Fans were quick to comment on the fact she made the joke from her $US27 million (NZ$43 million) Balinese-style mansion near Santa Barbara, California.
And amid the pandemic, US entertainment outlet Variety claimed DeGeneres cut her talk show's permanent crew in favour of freelancers. (However, New York Post reports a spokesperson told Variety the change was cleared with union reps and no one lost their job.)
Tom Majercak claims: "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."
Meanwhile, a Twitter thread has branded the star "one of the meanest people alive" - claiming the star complained about the state of a waitress' nail polish and that any underlings working for her must not make eye contact with her.
The thread was started by podcaster Kevin T. Porter who told the New York Post: "There's always been this whisper network about her notorious behaviour."
Porter alleges to have heard several stories about DeGeneres and that her not-nice behaviour is largely considered an "open secret" among Hollywood's inner circle.
Actress and comedian Chris Farah, 35, shared their story to Porter's thread. Farah says while working as a waitress, they served DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi for brunch.
"He asked me if I'd served Ellen," Farah told the Post. "I was really excited for a minute. I thought maybe she wanted to use me in her show. Then he told me that Ellen had written to the owner complaining that I had chipped nail polish. I couldn't believe it. She's so busy and rich. Why would she f**k with me?"
While Degeneres has previously described herself as an outsider and an underdog, after coming out as gay and subsequently losing her self-titled sitcom, she is now very much with the in-crowd: Worth US $330 million (NZ$537.6 million), the star considers the likes of the Obamas, Bill Gates and the Kardashians her friends.
And while claims the funny woman isn't as kind as she purports are coming in thick and fast, a former producer says perhaps DeGeneres has just been a little misunderstood.
The Post says the producer recalled being in DeGeneres' office many years ago and watching the star trying to read a text on her iPhone after she'd lost her glasses.
"She stopped everything and made a call," the producer said. "Next thing we know, we literally hear [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs pick up and say 'Hi, Ellen' ... Ellen told him the iPhone should have a bigger font. That's her. It's not that she's some demon. She just lives in an incredibly privileged bubble and is out of touch with the real world."
Ellen DeGeneres has been filming her show from her mega mansion in Santa Barbara. Photo / Supplied
And Mary Connelly, an executive producer from the show, Ellen, has also quashed claims of any sort of unkind behaviour from the star.
"None of what's being said speaks to the Ellen I know," Connelly said.
"Do the producers and her sometimes have to make unpopular decisions? Yes. Ellen is not afraid to tell you when she doesn't like something. She's had tough conversations with me. That's a function of everyday life. But the person I know is someone who comes in every day and wants to put on a fun show in a fun environment and help people."
