Ellen DeGeneres ‘Insulting’ Sofia Vergara on Her Show: What to Know

Sofia Vergara thinks that viewers have got it all wrong when it comes to her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. Last week, resurfaced clips of Vergara’s interviews with DeGeneres over the last few years circulated on social media, with some saying that Vergara was being mocked for her accent. On Friday, Vergara got on Twitter to say that she was not offended by the jokes.

“Two comedians having fun with each other to entertain,” Vergara tweeted. “I was never a victim guys, I was always in on the joke.” She included a link to a 2015 interview she did on The Ellen DeGeneres Show — one that was a bit more friendly than the ones that fans were revisiting throughout the week. While DeGeneres made fun of Vergara’s pronunciation, Vergara teased DeGeneres back in this one as well.

“They give her the hardest lines too because we have to describe what’s in the Cover Girl makeup and she has such a hard time pronouncing any of the ingredients,” Ellen joked. Vergara responded: “I think because you are much more famous than me and older than me so they give you a priority and you read the script first and then you’re the one that makes me say those words because there’s no way.”

The videos that fans shared last week were more dead-pan, with DeGeneres making jokes about Vergara’s accent and Vergara answering with a straight face. Out of context, the clips gave the appearance that DeGeneres was blind-siding Vergara with these jokes, and not taking the hint that she did not like them.

Whether or not that was the case, the old clips clearly set some fans. The rehashing of these interviews came amid growing backlash to DeGeneres and her show after former employees spoke out against her in a report by BuzzFeed News. They claimed that DeGeneres’ friendly demeanor and “be kind” mantra are an act and that she is not as kind off-camera.

Among the complaints are allegations that DeGeneres allowed racism and sexual harassment to go unchecked on the set of her show. DeGeneres has responded with public apologies, saying that she is aggrieved to learn that so many people felt unsafe in a workplace with her name on it.

So far, NBC executives have indicated that DeGeneres is not in danger of being fired, or of having her show canceled. Still, rumors indicated that DeGeneres may opt for early retirement due to this episode.