Over the years, numerous allegations have surfaced, portraying Ellen DeGeneres as a harsh figure and her show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," as a breeding ground for a toxic work environment. Recently, Adam Carolla shed light on his personal experience as a guest on her program, elaborating on why he believes "people were genuinely terrified" of her.
As DeGeneres makes headlines for her relocation to the UK and her political commentary, Adam Carolla was prompted to share his thoughts on "After Party with Emily Jashinsky," querying whether he perceived her as one of those individuals who have unravelled in the wake of Donald Trump. He bluntly responded, "Ellen has consistently been a harsh individual." He further drew parallels between the behind-the-scenes ambiance of her show and other talk shows, notably Jay Leno's and Jimmy Kimmel's. While he characterized Kimmel and Leno as "relaxed," he insisted that DeGeneres instilled fear in those around her. He recounted:
"On Ellen's show, people were terrified—utterly petrified."
He then recounted an anecdote from his time as a guest. Carolla described a segment producer entering his dressing room to hash out the discussion points for his on-air segment. They talked about innocuous topics like "Christmas," and the producer emphasized to the comedian to avoid mentioning "beef or meat." Carolla assured him he wouldn't, but the producer returned shortly afterward to reiterate the point, stating:
"You're not going to mention beef or meat, right?" I replied, "No, I won't. I'll stick to what we discussed—vacations, Christmas with the kids, their anecdotes." He responded, "Oh, alright, okay." Then, merely 20 minutes before I went on air, he came back again and said, "Alright, don't mention beef or meat." I thought to myself, 'This guy is absolutely petrified.' He was terrified.
Subsequently, Carolla doubled down on his assessment, revealing that he had conversed with another employee about their tenure on DeGeneres' show. While withholding their name, he recounted being told that they deemed her the "worst person" they had ever encountered:
"Later, I spoke to someone who had signed an NDA, so I can't disclose their name, but they used to write for Ellen. I casually asked, 'How is Ellen?' They replied, 'The worst person, by far the worst person I've ever met—not just worked for, but met period.'"
Carolla clarified that DeGeneres had never been directly harsh to him personally. Instead, he formulated his opinion based on the fear he perceived in her employees with whom he interacted.
It's important to note that Carolla's viewpoint is precisely that—an opinion. However, he is far from the first individual to allege that the former talk show host possessed a harsh demeanor. Margaret Cho recently described her interactions with Ellen as "weird and not nice." Ryan Phillippe subtly mocked her famous catchphrase "be kind to one another" in 2020. Meanwhile, former "Bachelorette" star Ali Fedotowsky-Manno recounted an incident where the host laughed at her expense rather than with her.
For the past half-decade, discussions surrounding Ellen DeGeneres, her work, and her show have been tumultuous. With her back in the limelight, these conversations are resurfacing. As we uncover more about her endeavors and the evolving dialogue about her former show, we'll keep you informed.
