‘The Ellen Show’: 5 Super Awkward Moments to Cringe About All Over Again

Ellen DeGeneres has been in a hot seat lately after former employees have come forward accusing the comedian of creating a toxic work environment. As a result, The Ellen DeGeneres Show is now under investigation by WarnerMedia and a third party firm. The two will reportedly work together to investigate the situation by interviewing former and current employees of the show.

Executives from both the show producer Telepictures and distributor Warner Bros. delivered a memo to staffers detailing what to expect in the coming weeks amid the investigation. In July, DeGeneres addressed the issues from multiple reports accusing the environment of racism and toxic work culture, in a note sent to the show’s crew. In her note, she took responsibility while insisting that steps will be taken to “correct the issues” moving forward. “As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”

However, while employees have complained about the work culture, former staffers and others who either worked or served DeGeneres allege she isn’t as kind as what she lets on. Media executive Neil Breen recalled the time he worked with her when DeGeneres came on for an interview for Australia’s Today, saying he was briefed by her staff that he was not to interact with her.

“The producers called us aside and said, ‘This is how it’s going to work here this morning. Ellen’s going to arrive at 10:15, and she’ll be sitting in this chair. And Richard, you’ll be sitting in this chair here. Neil, no one’s to talk to Ellen. You don’t talk to her, you don’t approach her, you don’t look at her. She’ll come in, she’ll sit down, she’ll talk to Richard, then Ellen will leave.’”

One woman, now a comedian, but former waitress recalled the time she served DeGeneres and how the talk show host tried to have her suspended for having chipped nail polish. While several have stepped forward, other celebrities have defended DeGeneres saying their experience on the show was always welcoming. While this may be the case, fans can’t help but to think about all the awkward moments that have taken place on her show. Below are five cringe-worthy moments that will still give you chills.

The one time Ellen forgot Katy Perry got married

Perry is one of the celebrities who defended DeGeneres, but according to Billboard News, the 62-year-old forgot Perry had been married to Russell Brand before. Here’s why it’s awkward: DeGeneres gifted Perry wedding items on her show when she and Brand were together, but that seemingly slipped her mind, making it awkward for the audience and Perry. 

Nicole Kidman vs. Chef Giada De Laurentiis

Degeneres hosted both Kidman and De Laurentiis on her show but the two seemingly poked at each other awkwardly as everyone just smiled through the segment. The celebrity chef was making what looked like meatballs with risotto, however, she was struggling to get DeGeneres and Kidman to perfectly form their balls. When Kidman came through, after the chef said DeGeneres’ looked like “dog food,” she insulted the actress saying “the woman who can’t cook made the perfect ball”

There was obvious frustration between Kidman and De Laurentiis, even DeGenres seemed to stand her ground a few times, but the segment was only beginning. Towards the end, the pizza they all made, Kidman shot back with, “It’s a little tough” as she insulted the chef. 

When Ellen called out one of her audience member and put her in Ellen “Jail”

DeGeneres decided to put a table of free Ellen items from the gift shop outside of the studio one day as audience members walked in. She encouraged everyone to take one item only, however, one woman took a few. Little did everyone know at the time, there was a hidden camera that recorded the woman taking multiple items. When DeGeneres awkwardly called her out, the woman named Nancy said that because her sister couldn’t come, she wanted to take something home for her as well. However, DeGeneres didn’t take kindly to it. Instead, isolating the woman by sending her to a chair she referred to as “jail.” This, of course, caused an awkward feeling among audience members and viewers. 

When Ellen gave audience member a computer

DeGeneres called out one of her audience members after the woman’s mom entered her in a contest. Prior to calling Amy down to the stage to sit next to DeGeneres, the comedian read a letter written by Amy’s mom. In that letter, she mentioned that Amy’s paying her entire way through college and even donated blood for six months to pay for a new computer. Her mother ended the note by saying she was not able to financially help her daughter, who wants to be a dentist, and schooling is costing her around $50,000, so she was hoping DeGeneres could help. 

When Amy sat down, DeGeneres was about to announce a potential check for so much, however, staffers awkwardly said on-air that wasn’t the case. Someone ran up to DeGeneres and whispered in her ear, and DeGeneres asked “what does that mean?” she awkwardly announced that Amy would be given a computer. 

When Ellen mispronounced Hasan Minhaj

As one of her guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hasan Minhaj was ready to get the facts straight on how to correctly pronounce his name. After DeGeneres said she was a huge fan of his, she incorrectly said his name then followed it up with saying that everyone pronounces it that way. So he decided to call her out and say it correctly.