Ellen DeGeneres Taking Heat for Video of Her Mom

Ellen DeGeneres' birthday gift to her 90-year-old mother Betty is earning her a fresh wave of backlash, with some fans going as far as accusing the talk show host of "elder abuse." The controversy, and the accusations, stem from a video the comedian shared to Twitter and Instagram on May 21, in which she is seen gifting her mother with a less-than-favorable haircut.

90th birthday present for my Mamma. pic.twitter.com/GNwpS0dvJ1

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 21, 2020

In the 57-second clip, which is captioned, "90th birthday present for my Mama," DeGeneres can be seen taking trimmers to her mother's hair. At one point in the video, DeGeneres is heard assuring her mother that "it's not that short" and that "it's just taking the edges off." Betty chimes in, asking, "why am I letting her do this?" When she asks why her daughter isn't using scissors, DeGeneres tells her, "believe me, you don't want me using scissors." By the end of the video, Betty is left with much shorter hair, which she doesn't seem to be a fan of. As she checks out her birthday 'do in the mirror, she tells her daughter that she doesn't like it "yet," adding that she "really cut it short."

While Betty seemed to suggest that the new haircut may grow on her after she washes it, fans still blasted DeGeneres for the haircut. Both on Twitter and Instagram, replies piled up, many accusing her of being mean, while others went as far as accusing her of "elder abuse." Several others suggested she had done it simply for publicity. Keep scrolling to see what social media had to say.