Ellen Degeneres Hoped To ‘See How Far They Could Push’ ‘This Is Us’ Star Milo Ventimiglia During This Cringeworthy Prank

With all the news surrounding The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the host’s history of pranks have come full circle with a new lens. What once seemed like an innocent, funny bit now has a darker undertone. This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia was once a part of a Degeneres prank, unbeknownst to him, and it’s nothing short of uncomfortable.

Milo Ventimiglia is a notoriously private man

A quick Google search for Ventimiglia will garner hundreds of results linked to This Is Us interviews. However, when it comes to the star’s personal life, little is known.

In previous interviews, Ventimiglia — who plays Jack Pearson on the NBC drama — stated that he learned a hard lesson of not putting too much out there. Though he’s been linked to stars like Heroes co-star Haden Panetierre, much of his dating life is a mystery.

Even on social media, “Papa Pearson” is relatively low key. As the reported champ of “the Instagram dump” — a sudden barrage of photos posted all at once, preceded and followed by months of silence — Ventimiglia leaves fans guessing.

That said, there’s one person the actor does speak openly about — his This Is Us co-star Mandy Moore. Luckily, she feels the same way. In a 2016 interview with Andy Cohen, Moore said her on-screen smooches with Ventimiglia are the best.

“We’re like seven episodes into shooting now and at this point it’s just sort of like, ‘Oh, we have to make out? OK.’ He’s just the loveliest and I feel so comfortable with him,” she said.

Naturally, Ventimiglia returned the sentiment.

“It’s one of those things, like, your current girlfriend, you have to say ‘She’s the best.’ She may have had some steamy ones in the past, but I thank you Mandy for saying I’m the best. Right back at you!” he said on the Golden Globes red carpet event.

While he may be open to all things This Is Us, it’s a whole different story when it comes to Milo Ventimiglia “the man.”

Ellen DeGeneres pranked Ventimiglia

During a 2019 appearance on The Ellen Show, Ventimiglia was minding his own business backstage when an “Ellen Show page” knocked on his door. In the clip, the page is a big fan — albeit somewhat pushy — testing Ventimiglia’s patience.

Before showing the prank, DeGeneres prefaced the joke by stating that Ventimiglia is “one of the nicest guys around.” She wanted to see how far they could push” him and “how long he could tolerate someone who is really really annoying.” he figured things out a little too quickly.

“We didn’t get too far,” DeGeneres said. “I had plans to do some crazy things.”

She sent “Constance” in to “restock the water”

The first interaction is as assumed — Ventimiglia is nothing but courteous, asking the page questions and is genuinely interested in the answers. But, as “Constance” doesn’t take the hint to leave, it’s clear that Ventimiglia is ready to be alone before he’s called out to the stage.

“Everything’s great,” he says, repeatedly as she fluffs his pillows and talks of other celebrity guest stars. “Good to meet you,” he adds, attempting to usher her out of the room.

When she asks to check the hot water in the bathroom, she says “I’m going to get fired if I don’t check,” which makes the recent “toxic work allegations” a little too real.

Constance leaves but returns to confess her name isn’t Constance, but Debbie. The page presses for a selfie, but a [still very patient] Ventimiglia politely declines.

The next time she knocks, Ventimiglia grabs his water and keys and bolts while Debbie goes into the room. He runs into DeGeneres in the hall, who guides him back to his green room. From there, things take an even more cringeworthy turn.

Debbie says she “counted the apples” and “checked the hot water,” while anxiously moving water bottles where DeGeneres tells her. Even though they’re doing a bit, the scene is slightly unsettling knowing that former employees complained of situations like this.

Still, Ventimiglia made sure DeGeneres knew that Debbie was doing a good job. Eventually, the prank ended and DeGeneres confessed.

Fans feel the after-effect of ‘The Ellen Show’ pranks

Though DeGeneres pulls a prank or two on nearly every episode, fans had a few thoughts on this one, calling Ventimiglia a “kind soul” and the bit “cringeworthy” on a Reddit thread.

“This was so cringy to watch. Are these “pranks” entertaining to anyone else except Ellen?” one commented.

“I never really got why these pranks are that funny either. I mean at best he has the patience of a saint (like in the video) and at worst he snaps (like honestly most would) and then everyone hates him though Ellen definitely was pushing him to the point of it. There’s nothing funny,” another said.

“Right? And if he blew up at her then what? I know a lot of nice people who have bad days,” another added.

In the wake of all that surrounds DeGeneres and her talk show, it’s worth looking back at all the harmless pranks that now have a whole new feel.