Photo by Cyrus Chew on Unsplash
I’ve been wanting to say this for years but didn’t know how to pinpoint my argument, I just knew how Ellen made me feel (which we’ll get into later). Usually, when I watch her stuff, I just get an overwhelming sense of uncomfortableness. For this reason, I never became an avid watcher of her daytime talk show. But I would watch clips here and there. One clip that has been circulating in the news is this video of Dakota Johnson completely checking Ellen after Ellen missed her 30th birthday party.
Ellen starts the interview by asking Dakota, “when was your birthday?”. And Dakota’s head shrug accompanied by the sway of her hand as she muttered, “it was October 4th”, told me something was about to go down. Ellen goes on to insist that Dakota didn’t invite her to the party and Dakota was like um no “last year when I was here, you gave me a bunch of sh*it for not inviting you… I didn’t even know you wanted to be invited.”
Their back and forth is actually golden and I would have paid top dollar to see this go down in person. Ellen tries to check Dakota like ummm are you sure I was invited? And Dakota claps back with, “yeah ask everyone. Ask your producer Jonathon.” And then guess what? Jonathon confirmed that yes, indeed, Ellen was invited to the party but didn’t go because she was out of town (watching football with George W. Bush might I add hehe).
So much shadiness in this whole situation and I’m just glad that someone finally had the nerve to clap back at Ellen because she doesn’t seem to be as nice as her on-air persona. But honestly, I never bought into the “on-air Ellen”. She always seemed a little cold and inauthentic to me. But I’m not just talking out of my butt. Here’s the evidence.
Ellen’s Game of Games
One thing I really do like that Ellen produces is her game show, Ellen’s Game of Games. It’s a great game show where you either win money or you embarrass yourself on live TV. So basically like any other game show, right? Contestants are always so excited to see her that they run up and hug her. I don’t know if it just me but it seems like Ellen does not want to embrace these people. And I get that she doesn’t know them and it might be weird to hug people you don’t know but she’s Ellen. It comes with the territory at this point. Right?
I also noticed on the game show Ellen can be kind of cold towards the guests. And it’s not that she’s being mean to them but she reminds me of that one militant uncle that I’m always questioning if he loves me or not, ya know? She drops people down pits, splashes slime all of them and then laughs as the terrified contestants are unexpectedly hit with their punishment for not knowing the correct answers to questions. The show tries to frame it in a cutesy way but that grimacing smirk Ellen gives as she presses her big, red button and eerily mutters “Bye-bye” sends shivers down my spine.
Accounts of a Former Employee
But it’s not just me. Ellen has a reputation for being a b*tch off camera. A former staff writer detailed her experience on the show and said Ellen treated the staff like “sh*t“. She’d be in rehearsals with a big smile on her face, then the director would yell cut, her face would fall, and she’d level a glare at the writers. ‘Why do you keep writing these unfunny jokes?’ she’d hiss.”
A V Strange Interview With Katy Perry
It’s not just her interview with Dakota Johnson that’s been awkward, she’s had other weird run-ins on her show that are worth noting. This interview with Katy Perry was v strange. First, she seemed to forget that Katy was married to Russel Brand. Second, her demeanor was just off the entire time. Katy and Ellen have been friends for years and Ellen seemed kind of standoffish to me.
The Stranger Things Cast
Oh yeah, I can’t forget about her show with the kids from Stanger Things. In kid fashion, they were child-like, cute and making fun banter with each other and Ellen but the love did not seem to be returned. Again, Ellen seemed so standoffish and plain uninterested in what was happening.
A 2018 article in the New York Times revealed Ellen’s TV persona is different from her off-camera personality. It explains in real life, Ellen is, “more blunt, introspective and interesting than she is on the show, willing to express mild irritation that might seem off-key in front of a national audience.” It’s strange because that’s exactly how I would describe her personality on air. She always seems irritated and like she’s thinking of being someplace else.
In any case, Ellen still seems to be America’s sweetheart and I doubt this interview with Dakota Johnson will tarnish her name. Only time will tell. Let me know in the comments what you think about Ellen. Are you an avid supporter or do you think she has a mean streak? Let me know in the comments.