Is this the downfall of Ellen DeGeneres?
Ellen deGeneres has been a TV icon and well-respected celebrity for more than two decades, but has copped a good deal of backlash after making a “distasteful” quarantine joke that left a sour taste in people’s mouths.
Hosting her hit program The Ellen Show from the comfort of her gorgeous living room, surrounded by natural light and luxurious greenery, the celebrity worth a whopping US$490 million made a joke about having to film from her home while quarantining with her wife Portia de Rossi by comparing the whole situation to being incarcerated.
“This is like being in jail is what it is,” DeGeneres joked. “Mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay!”
Several loving fans took to Twitter to criticise the comedian for not recognising just how privileged she seems to be.
“My 19-year-old daughter is considered an ‘essential employee’. She's a fast food worker. She's exposed EVERY DAY. No one GAF about Ellen's privilege pampers a$$ stuck in her mansion. Show me @ellen working the lines @ the grocery store. NO mask, NO gloves. Then I might care,” one angry user wrote.
Another person joked: “Petition to stick her in an actual jail after quarantine is lifted. Just for a month or so, so maybe she can learn something.”
“Hey, Ellen, go volunteer at a grocery store or food bank. Get on the front lines if being sequestered in your mansion is just too difficult. Unbelievable,” another added.