Ellen Degeneres

[prisma]

Yes, what’s the James Gordon tea? This is the first I am hearing anything about him.

ETA:: Thanks, ladybug. I think we were posting at the same time.

[americanchai]

I'm glad this stuff about Ellen is coming out into the open as I have some friends who adore her and I just kind of roll my eyes and keep my mouth shut because I only know what I've read on gossip sights for YEARS. Where there's smoke...also I'm not invested in it either. Same friends looooove Chelsea Handler who I find incredibly repulsive but that's for another thread.

[cabbagekid]

Aug 3, 2020 16:12:52 GMT -4 carrier76 said:

Aug 3, 2020 15:23:14 GMT -4 Ginger said:

Ditto on James Corden. If they are looking for someone non-problematic to replace her, he's not it!

I keep seeing references to him being awful. What’s the tea?

A lot of stories that was on Reddit was regarding the writers strike a few years back. I can't remmeber the exact details but the writers didn't feel supported by him.

The one "tea" that stood out at me was a poster claimed that he was seated next to Corden and Harry Styles at a restaurant. Supposedly, Corden was rude to the wait staff and when the poster's friend told him to calm down, Corden got aggressive and threatening towards him in a "boozy panda" sort of way. Yes, I remember the boozy panda comment. Harry Styles seemed cool though, Corden? Not so much.

[Source] americanchai said:

Same friends looooove Chelsea Handler who I find incredibly repulsive but that's for another thread.

I saw Chelsea Handler maybe 10-15 years ago early morning at a Starbucks. It took me a few seconds to recognize her because she looked rough. I will say, she did smile at me though, maybe because I was staring at her, then had a "I know you" facial expression which quickly turned to a "ooooh, you don't look like you do on TV" facial expression.

[Ginger]

I don't know exactly what Corden did, but his reputation was formed when he was back in England still doing West End theater and TV. It was bad enough that Rolling Stone questioned him about it when they profiled him to promote his talk show.

I wouldn't have guessed it based on his TV persona, but apparently he has always been a very nasty, unpleasant diva behind the scenes.

[Carolina]

Yeah, I've heard both that James Corden was particularly horrid during the writers strike and that he was an absolute nightmare back in the UK.

Ellen's non-apology/buck passing doesn't surprise me at all.

[askye]

I saw Chelsea Handler maybe 10-15 years ago early morning at a Starbucks. It took me a few seconds to recognize her because she looked rough. I will say, she did smile at me though, maybe because I was staring at her, then had a "I know you" facial expression which quickly turned to a "ooooh, you don't look like you do on TV" facial expression.

The ironic thing is that although Chelsea Handler's whole talk show persona was based around being cantankerous/someone who didn't care, I've read numerous stories about how generous she could be with the staff on her show. She would take them on nice vacations or out to dinner - and when Chuy Bravo, who played her "sidekick" on the show, fell ill, she chipped in for the cost of his medical expenses.

I'm not sure how to feel about the whole Ellen thing. I give her so much credit for breaking down barriers for the LGBT community, but some of the things her employees have been saying have been pretty egregious. I don't think she's "canceled," because I think her celebrity guests/friends will stick by her and will still come on her show to promote things, but it's going to be hard for the general public to look at her the same way.

[Wol]

FWIW, Teen Wol and I ran into James Corden while at the theater last year. There was a small crowd and he took selfies and shook hands with everyone who wanted to. He might be really good at compartmentalizing - sweet to fans, an asshat to his crew.

[famvir]

I've told this story before. There was a time when my husband and I were famous in the USSR. We'd established a children's project that took off. We had spent 4 days at the huge dance festival (like Eurovision for the USSR), really the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And we were the guests of honor!

It was in the middle of Ukraine. Ukraine was just about to declare independence, but it was still against the law to speak Ukrainian, sing in Ukrainian, or show the flag. The national language was Russian. Two generations of people only spoke Russian.

During the time we were there, I worked with our tour guide to learn a little Ukraine. After the four days of performances, I was asked on stage to dance with the troupe, and receive presents and a cake.

On stage, I thanked the participants (everyone in the audience) for their tremendous work, for their talent, for the presents and the delicious cake, and said that I loved them all. I did this in Ukrainian.

They went nuts, and it was a high point in all the international moments we've had. Autographs, pictures, the end of the festival, and then we were on an overnight train to Kiev.

I was tired and had to pee. In Russian trains, there is a toilet at each end of the cars. But often, the train cabin-master will lock the one closest to their quarters for a private bathroom. We were in a sleeping compartment on the far end of the bathroom. I had to walk in a shifting train the entire length of the car to get to the bathroom. I couldn't see (contacts out, exhausted, and I mentioned the pee situation?) I was surly, out of sorts and just looking forward and ploughing on.

It turned out all the people on that car were dancers that had been at the festival, on their way back to Kiev.

I suffer to think of their final take on this famous American woman that was so nice, but it was all fake because of how horrible and unfriendly I was as I walked through the train. I think I blew all the good will I generated, and they talk about what a bitch I was. Had I any idea, yeah, a smile, a wave, a high five would have been easy. But sometimes you are tired and the bathroom closest to you is locked, and you just want to pee.

I keep this in mind every time I hear a story about a rude famous person. I was famous for a very small window of time, and I blew it. Won't sign an autograph? Take a picture with you? Glad hand? Maybe they are tired, want to talk to a friend, need to pee.

In the same way I don't know the names of the workers that did construction at my house, only the contractor. I'd wave sometimes, but sometimes I'd just ask them to please move their truck so I could back out.

I read Kathy Griffin's celebrity Mean Girl book. She was particularly pissed about one female celerity who refused to gush over Kathy because the celebrity said she, "was having dinner with an old friend and wanted catch up." Kathy eviscerated the celebrity. But man, how hard to always need to say the right thing and do the right thing and act the right way.

Some people like Chris Evers and Tom Hanks seems to be able to do it, but are they just better at keeping the annoyed and tired and need to pee bits out of the press?

[dragonflie]

famvir, what a cool experience!

Just wanted to add: I agree in terms of; we all have pissy days, etc... BUT- this isn't some one off story. In Ellen's case this has been a known secret for years and years and there are a magnitude of stories. In this case right now she has current staff (as well as former, as well as guests, as well as a few celebs) all with individual examples. This is not (in my estimation) a nice person having an off day. This seems much much worse. To be honest, I think the primary issue isn't that she's a bitch, it's that her whole public persona/talk show touts the opposite... her brand is caring and happiness.

The Chelsea Handler example is interesting and I agree askye, it's a good juxtaposition. Chelsea's public persona is to be bitchy and bitter- yet I hear many behind the scenes stories of her being generous, kind, and going out of her way. In many ways she seems to be the polar opposite of Ellen.

[OnyxRose]

There’s been talk about what an asshole Ellen is for nearly two decades so it’s not something that just came out of nowhere. It was just usually ignored but it’s a perfect storm now for her behavior to actually have consequences.

But floating James Corden as a replacement makes me realize the issue doesn’t just lie with her behavior. It’s the people behind the scenes as well. He’s not been famous nearly as long and he has the same reputation.