How Do Ellen DeGeneres’ Celebrity Friends Feel About the Terrible Accusations Against the Talk Show Host?
Ellen DeGeneres has largely been considered a Hollywood success story. Her long-running talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has been a place of inspiration, positivity, and more than a few laughs.
DeGeneres herself has performed a public persona of uplifting optimism in the face of some of the darker moments of society, often championing an ethos of togetherness and acceptance. She comes across as endearing and down-to-earth, especially when she’s showcasing meaningful friendships with other celebrities.
Reconciling that public image of DeGeneres as a feel-good daytime TV host who loves a great laugh with the reports coming out from those who work with her behind the scenes has gotten increasingly difficult. How are her celebrity friends reacting to the accusations against her?
‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ is known for its inspiration
There are mean people on TV. In fact, there are people who make their entire careers out of venomous personas, especially when they take on roles where they judge contestants or participants. Perhaps if DeGeneres were filling a role like Simon Cowell’s, the accusations against her wouldn’t be so shocking.
However, DeGeneres’ show is known for its light-hearted nature and inspirational vibes. Hearing about DeGeneres’ cruel treatment of people behind the cameras doesn’t just strike fans as mean; for many, it feels hypocritical.
Her show is often filled with feel-good moments like the time she paid off a teacher’s debts or organized a surprise holiday reunion for a military family. People tune in to see her messages of hope like the one she tearfully shared after the Las Vegas mass shooting.
She gives inspiring speeches and laughs heartily as she pranks her celebrity guests on the show. Overall, people associate her public identity with fun, love, and joy.
Accusations against Ellen DeGeneres have been building
Despite her positive persona, the accusations against DeGeneres have been building for a long time. The complaints started to go public back in early spring when DeGeneres’ show — like so many others — had to make changes because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
DeGeneres built a studio in her home so that she could continue producing her show safely, and crew members anxiously awaited news of how their positions would be impacted. When DeGeneres took to the show to express concern for her crew, all seemed well: “I love them, I miss them, the best thing I can do to support them is to keep the show on the air.”
In reality, only four original crew members were brought on to continue the work. In place of the rest, DeGeneres began using a non-union technical crew.
Crew members — including several who had been with the show for its entire 17-year run — received no communication or clarification, and their frustration with the work environment boiled over. DeGeneres is facing massive public criticism, and in response she has shifted the blame, saying that things fell through the cracks in the crisis but that she will get it back on track.
A former producer for the show, however, pushed back. Hedda Muskat, who worked on the show for about a year beginning in 2003, claimed that DeGeneres was well aware of the toxic work environment and supported its existence.
The response has devastated Ellen DeGeneres
The rumors and accusations were dying down, but then a bodyguard who worked for DeGeneres came forward with his own account of being treated coldly. A source close to DeGeneres said that the star was feeling frustrated and hurt: “Ellen is at the end of her rope. She thought this was all just sour grapes from a few haters. But it’s not a passing thing — the hits just keep coming.”
Meanwhile, several of her celebrity friends are responding. According to Us Magazine, celebrities are coming to her defense. Scooter Braun, a media mogul, took to Twitter to call DeGeneres a “kind, thoughtful, courageous human being.”
Katy Perry, who has appeared on DeGeneres’ show, expressed kindness as well: “I know I can’t speak for anyone else’s experience besides my own but I want to acknowledge that I have only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen.”
Others voiced their support and shared their positive experiences with DeGeneres include DJ Samantha Ronson and actor Jerry O’Connell. A source told US Magazine that DeGeneres’ “close friends, like Jennifer Aniston, Justin Timberlake and Mario Lopez, are on her side.”
“They know that Ellen can be tough but accept that about her and know that it takes a lot of work to run a tight ship like her show,” the source said. “They get it.”
That said, many critics noted that just because they had positive experiences, it does not invalidate or negate the experiences being shared by dozens of members on her team.
A few other high-profile faces came forward to add fuel to the fire, however. Actor Lea Thompson said that the accusations were a “true story.” Meanwhile, James Wood used the incident as an opportunity to be snarky about cancel culture, tweeting: “The Left eats another of its own.”
