Megyn Kelly is taking aim at Ellen DeGeneres, reviving years-old claims that the former daytime television star was far less cheerful behind the scenes than she appeared on camera.
During a recent episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly discussed DeGeneres’ alleged treatment of staff while speaking with comedian Adam Carolla. Their conversation focused on reports that the former talk show host’s private behavior sharply contrasted with the upbeat, friendly image she presented to viewers for years.
Carolla opened the discussion by arguing that celebrities who build their public personas around kindness are sometimes very different once the cameras stop rolling. He pointed to DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell as examples, claiming that people who worked with them often had stories about their off-camera behavior.
Kelly then shared an allegation she said came from a blood relative of someone who worked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“You were not allowed to look Ellen in the eye if you were on her production staff,” Kelly claimed.
She acknowledged that it would be understandable for a television host to ask employees not to interrupt or distract them shortly before filming, since many performers prefer to stay focused before going on camera. However, Kelly argued that an alleged ban on eye contact would be something entirely different.
“You can’t make eye contact with her? She’s a monster,” Kelly said.
Carolla also questioned whether DeGeneres’ signature on-screen personality reflected how she behaved in private. He recalled attending a wedding where DeGeneres was also a guest and said she was the only person who was not dancing.
He found that particularly surprising because dancing had become one of the most recognizable parts of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with DeGeneres regularly dancing in front of her audience during the program.
The latest criticism comes years after DeGeneres publicly responded to accusations that her popular daytime show had become a toxic workplace.
At the time, DeGeneres said she had believed the program was a “place of happiness” and expressed disappointment after learning that some employees felt their experiences behind the scenes did not reflect that image.
As the workplace controversy unfolded, an older segment from The Ellen DeGeneres Show also resurfaced online. The clip showed DeGeneres displaying photographs taken from crew members’ personal Facebook pages and joking about them in front of the studio audience.
During one exchange, she mocked a staff member for buying inexpensive underwear during a trip to Hong Kong.
“Do we not pay you enough? Why aren’t you buying Ellen underwear?” DeGeneres joked. “What are you doing going to Chinatown? What are those underwear for? I can see the price right there! So no matter what it looks like you’ll buy it if it’s 10 cents — is that what you’re about?”
The allegations against DeGeneres were not limited to her television set.
In 2020, a former household employee spoke anonymously to the Daily Mail and described DeGeneres as “the worst person I’ve ever met,” while making a series of claims about what it was allegedly like to work inside her home.
“My belief is that someone’s real personality comes out at home,” the former employee said. “So after everything that has been said about her at work, you can imagine how terrible Ellen is going to be at home when her guard is down.”
The source claimed DeGeneres frequently spoke to employees in a condescending manner and would yell at members of her household staff.
“She would yell at us, but it was more about the incredibly condescending tone she would use,” the former employee alleged. “She treated you like you were nothing.”
“She was going to torture you and you were going to sit there and listen to it because you were being paid,” the source continued. “Ellen was the worst person I’ve ever met in my life. She takes pleasure in firing people.”
The former employee said they had initially been excited to work for DeGeneres because they believed she was “an amazing person.” However, they claimed other staff members warned them before they accepted the position.
“I was told that [the household] had a very high turnover and that I should stay under the radar as much as possible, avoid as much direct contact with Ellen as possible,” the source said. “Working there was described as being more like a boot camp.”
DeGeneres has previously addressed the broader workplace controversy surrounding her show, but the allegations continue to follow her years after the program ended.