Entertainment
Ellen DeGeneres slammed by Hollywood journalist as he recalls brutal run-ins with star
Ellen DeGeneres has been slammed by a Hollywood journalist as he recalled two brutal run-ins with the star.
The 63-year-old recently announced the end of her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after allegations of a ‘toxic’ workplace.
However, journalist Richard Reid has claimed DeGeneres’ problems started earlier, recalling two run-ins he had with the star.
He recalled that, in the late nineties, DeGeneres had just come out and was publicly dating actress Anne Heche.
Reid had been asked to interview Heche, and turned up in his ‘best suit and tie’, only to be dismayed to find that the actress had rocked a ‘boho’ look, and he felt overdressed.
Explaining that he asked Heche if that was what she was wearing to the interview, he went on: ‘No sooner had the words come out my mouth, Ellen comes charging around the corner, her eyes shooting daggers and lightning bolts right at me. “You can’t talk to my girlfriend that way. She can wear whatever she wants. Why do you even care what she’s wearing?”
‘The jolt of her rage left both Anne and I gobsmacked into momentary silence,’ he added on news.com.au.
Reid described DeGeneres as ‘blind with rage’, likening her to a ‘schoolyard bully’.
He said he met her again in 2004, when covering the opening to a Prada store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Asking her if he could ask a few questions, he went on: ‘Ellen glared straight into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity – which in actuality was maybe two seconds – before uttering one word: “You.”’
He claimed that she asked who he worked for, before rudely turning away.
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‘Without missing a beat, she barked, “Yeah, I’m not talking to you guys,” and walked straight over to my competition at Entertainment Tonight before robotically turning on her magic Ellen charm as the cameras began to roll,’ he wrote.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has previously faced accusations of a toxic workplace.
The host later apologised to staff in an internal letter, before addressing the scandal on her show.
‘I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect,’ the note, first acquired by Hollywood Reporter, said.
‘Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry.’
Affirming that she still believes in the show’s motto of ‘being kind to everyone’, Ellen said some people ‘didn’t do their jobs’ as she left them to take over elements of the series.
She also seemingly denied knowing anything negative was going on behind-the-scenes, adding that people who work with her ‘are speaking on her behalf and that has to stop’.
‘As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or – worse – disregarded.
‘To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.’
Most recently, she announced that her show would be ending after 19 years – but denied it was down to the scandal.
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Ellen DeGeneres for comment.
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