Celebrities Who Can't Stand Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is, indisputably, one of TV's favorite faces. Since its launch in September 2003, The Ellen DeGeneres Show has shattered ratings records and helped her become one of the biggest names in Hollywood. In 2016, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, in 2017, at age 59, she broke the People's Choice Awards record for most wins when she took home her 20th award. 

Despite all those accolades and her huge fan base, daytime's nicest host has managed to make a few enemies along the way. These are the celebrities who supposedly can't stand the comedic icon.

Kathy Griffin's stink with Ellen DeGeneres is apparently somewhat of an onion. Peel back the layers, and the whole thing supposedly stems from another alleged feud with another comedic legend.

In a November 2016 interview with Access Hollywood, Griffin explained that her bad blood with DeGeneres is rooted in the latter's alleged rocky relationship with the late Joan Rivers. "In my very last dinner with Joan Rivers, we would always check in with each other, and I'd be like, 'Where are you with Ellen?' and she'd be like, 'Ugh, still hates me!' And she'd go, 'Well, what about you?' and I'd say, 'Oh, she thinks I'm mean,'" Griffin claimed. "The truth is, I guess I feel like I'm sticking up for a pal ... There's so few female comics over 50 ... I wish we were better at supporting each other."

Griffin continued with a passive-aggressive compliment of sorts: "Joan Rivers didn't have a mean bone in her body, and I wish Ellen would have really celebrated her more because Ellen has such an amazing, incredible platform ... Joan broke the glass ceiling for women talk show hosts."

When NBC's First Dates launched in April 2017, it appeared to have all the makings of a hit show. Executive produced by Ellen DeGeneres and narrated by Drew Barrymore, the series set out to "explore all of the simple wonders of a first date." But according to In Touch Weekly, the relationship between the show's celebrity duo may have been anything but amorous. 

"Ellen and Drew are a case of oil and water," a source cited by the mag alleged. "Ellen expected to be the one calling the shots, but Drew thinks she should have creative control because she's the movie star people are tuning in to see."

Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan were one of the morning show circuit's favorite couples while co-hosting Live! with Kelly and Michael from 2012 to 2016, but when the latter abruptly announced he was leaving the show to join ABC's Good Morning America, their relationship quickly crumbled.

When Ellen DeGeneres invited Strahan to appear on her show in October 2017, Ripa was reportedly none too pleased. According to Star (via Gossip Cop), "Cozying up with Michael was like telling the world she had taken his side and was taunting Kelly," which left Ripa "livid." The tabloid claimed that "it took [DeGeneres] a little while, but after the show aired, she realized how hurtful it must have been" and allegedly reached out to Ripa to apologize.

During a headline-making appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2015, Caitlyn Jenner was asked about same-sex marriage and admitted, "At first, I was not for it." Following that interview, DeGeneres accused Jenner of passing "judgment against gay people and marriage" during an interview with Howard Stern. The talk show host even quipped, "Maybe [Jenner] didn't want to dance with me [on the show] because I'm a lesbian."

Jenner revisted that infamous interview with DeGeneres years later in her memoir, The Secrets of My Life, and during an appearance with radio personality Andy Cohen. "I got burnt by Ellen on marriage equality," she told Cohen, explaining that DeGeneres had asked Jenner before the interview to talk about her shifting views on marriage equality. Jenner agreed. "I kind of explained my progression ... but then all of a sudden, Ellen comes back and says, 'Sounds like you're really not for it.' I said, 'No I just said I was for it but it was a progression.' She went on Howard Stern and kind of upped the ante and Howard goes, 'Yah, I can't believe Caitlyn's not for marriage equality.'"

Jenner also addressed the controversial dancing comment, clapping back, "Why should somebody in my community say something like that? I don't think it helps the community. I don't think it helps me. I don't think it helps her. I would have danced with her in a heartbeat. She never asked me to dance."

Ellen DeGeneres ruffled a lot of feathers when she took to Twitter in 2017 to wish Katy Perry a happy birthday. "Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It's time to bring out the big balloons!" DeGeneres wrote, cheekily referencing a line from the singer's hit 2013 song, "Birthday." The post would perhaps have been innocent enough, if not for the fact that the talk show host paired her well-wishes with a snap of herself gawking at the pop star's breasts, highlighting the lyric's sexual innuendo.

Backlash against DeGeneres was swift and severe, with some even comparing her to disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Celebrities also voiced disapproval, including actor Michael Rapaport, who tweeted, "Imagine if Cam Newton or any other man sent out this tweet & photo." One of the most vocal critics was TV journalist Piers Morgan. "If a man made this joke," he tweeted out, "Ellen would lead the cries of 'SEXIST PIG!'" 

Morgan used those same words to describe DeGeneres in 2016, after she displayed a shirtless photo of Chris Hemsworth during her People's Choice Awards acceptance speech. "I was disgusted," Morgan wrote for the Daily Mail. "In fact, I've never been so offended by anything in my entire life."

In October 2019, Ellen DeGeneres was photographed sitting next to George W. Bush at an NFL game in Dallas, which instantly sparked controversy on social media. The comedian and former president were watching the Dallas Cowboys face off against the Green Bay Packers in the Cowboys' suite when they were spotted chatting and laughing together. DeGeneres later defended herself against the backlash over their unlikely friendship in an episode of her talk show, preaching kindness and saying, among other things, "I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have." However, a number of celebrity critics came forward to condone her openness. 

Actress Susan Sarandon was one of said critics. Sharing a quote from an Out magazine article titled, "Ellen is 'Friends' with Bush — but He was No Friend to LGBTQ+ People," she decided to highlight one particular passage on Twitter: "But missing the point entirely, DeGeneres framed the issue as simply a matter of her hanging out with someone with different opinions, not a man repeatedly accused of being a war criminal."

In 2016, two-time Emmy-winner Kathy Griffin published a tell-all book dubbed Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index. In the book, Griffindished dirt on more than 125 celebs, including Ellen DeGeneres who, interestingly, she didn't name outright. "I'm almost positive a certain beloved daytime talk show host once had me kicked out of a backstage dressing room at the Emmy Awards," Griffin wrote (via Us Weekly), leaving little doubt about the host's identity. "I can't prove it, but this person, who has short blonde hair, has a mean streak that all of Hollywood knows about."

Meanwhile, DeGeneres called Griffin "very mean" in an interview with W magazine. "I know she had a big thing about wanting to be on the show ... She did a whole thing that I banned her from the show," she said. "I didn't ban her from the show, because first you have to be on the show to be banned."

Years have passed, but the drama is ongoing. Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 that she received a harsh call from DeGeneres about Celebrity Run-Ins. "[DeGeneres] was extremely upset, and I think she had a thought that she was going to, like, put me in my place, or whatever, but as you know I'm not shut-uppable," Griffin said. "We kind of got into it ... I admire her and, you know, it was a difficult conversation. But hey, it came with the territory."

Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo was rubbed the wrong way by Ellen DeGeneres' surprising friendship with George W. Bush — and he made sure to let everyone know. The Avengers star voiced his disapproval on Twitter, writing, "Sorry, until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War, (including American-lead torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars — emotional & otherwise — inflicted on our military that served his folly), we can't even begin to talk about kindness."

Unfortunately for Ruffalo, the tweet may have given him a whole other (albeit indirect) reason to dislike DeGeneres, as it garnered its own share of backlash, most notably from veterans. Graham Allen, for example, responded with, "Sorry to interrupt your 'hulk smash' moment. I served with soo many that did soo much more than me, and we would do it ALL over again for our country! You don't get to speak for Veterans."

Yet another celebrity to speak out against Ellen DeGeneres' unfaltering stance on her friendship with George W. Bush was actress Jameela Jamil. Following in the footsteps of Mark Ruffalo and Susan Surandon, The Good Place star turned to Twitter to make her voice heard. Admitting that it took her some time to decide which side of the debate to be on, the British star went on to explain why she had to agree with DeGeneres' critics. 

"Ooooof learning today about the full extent of Bush's heinous presidency," Jamil tweeted. "We weren't taught much about him at school, we just heard he was stupid... (we were dealing with our own epic nightmare of a prime minister back then). What a monstrous leader. I now understand the rage." 

Interestingly enough, the tweet may have actually caused some ramifications in her professional life, as Jamil's co-star on The Good Place, Kristen Bell, actually defended DeGeneres. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Bell uploaded photos of DeGeneres and Bush and wrote (via USA Today), "She's my (queen)."