Ellen DeGeneres is struggling to cope with the bad press she's been getting lately, as more and more ex-staffers speak out against her alleged "mean" behaviour. Photo / Getty Images
Ellen DeGeneres is struggling to cope with the bad press she's been getting lately, as more and more ex-staffers speak out against her alleged "mean" behaviour. Photo / Getty Images
Ellen DeGeneres is reportedly struggling with the string of accusations from staffers and show guests claiming she's not as nice as she appears on TV.
"Ellen is at the end of her rope," an insider told Us Weekly.
"She thought this was all just sour grapes from a few haters. But it's not a passing thing — the hits just keep coming."
DeGeneres – a TV icon for the better part of two decades and a globally respected human being – has recently copped the wrath of the public on a number of occasions; becoming the target of fans yet again last month after making a "distasteful" quarantine joke.
Hosting her show from the comfort of her living room, DeGeneres, who has a net worth of US$490 million, made a joke in her opening monologue saying quarantine with her wife Portia de Rossi was similar to incarceration, which upset many of her viewers.
It comes weeks after she was the subject of a viral Twitter thread that centred on the topic DeGeneres was the "meanest person alive", encouraging people to share any personal stories they had to validate the theory.
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
"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."
There were more than 1000 replies to Porter's tweet, with people detailing their not-so-nice experiences with Ellen.
TV writer Benjamin Siemon replied to Porter's tweet with: "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."
He also 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."
Chris Farah tweeted: "I worked @RealFoodDaily, served her … 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."
Author Allison Freer wrote: "Was working on a show @ WB that was next to her stage. Was our showrunner's 50th Bday. Caterer grilling steaks outside for special fancy lunch. Ellen sent someone over to demand they stop, as she doesn't eat meat. She's the worst."
She also tweeted: "I have another food one: she polices her crew's lunch orders, nobody allowed to eat fish etc. They would come hide on our stage to eat what they wanted away from her."
Stand-up comedian Josh Levesque replied with: "Another friend of mine was a PA on her show and when Russell Brand came into the employee break area to chat with the crew and hang out, Ellen came in and got mad at him – saying he didn't have to interact with these people, that's why guests have their own area backstage."
Singer Detox tweeted: "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."
After being inundated with responses, Porter tweeted: "Well this got out of hand! It's now hard to tell which stories are real or not, so I've rounded up to 300 and donated $600!"
Meanwhile, beauty influencer Nikkie de Jager, who appeared on her talk show in January, claimed DeGeneres was particularly "cold" and gave preferential treatment to A-list guests.
DeGeneres' alleged bad reputation was further supported by Tom Majercak, a former bodyguard who protected DeGeneres at the 2014 Oscars. In an interview with Fox News, Majercak branded the host as "sly" and "demeaning".
DeGeneres never addressed the claims, but it's certainly been a bumpy few months for one of daytime TV's most beloved figures.
