As the coronavirus pandemic leaves America's workforce in limbo, comedian Ellen DeGeneres
has come under fire for allegedly mistreating her crew in these uncertain times. According
to Variety, more than 30 of The Ellen DeGeneres Show's employees are, quote, "outraged over
their treatment from top producers," as they claim they have been kept in the dark regarding
their pay, hours, and other health-related concerns for more than a month.
Now, her former bodyguard, Tom Majercak, has stepped up to reveal that she's, quote, "cold"
and "demeaning." Majercak told Fox News,
"Ellen is the one person that I've been assigned to and I've been assigned to quite a few celebrities
that has never taken the time to say hi to me."
Majercak had been assigned to escort DeGeneres and wife Portia De Rossi at the 2014 Oscars,
and although De Rossi was, quote, "very pleasant and carried on a conversation," everything
went south when she introduced him to DeGeneres. Majercak said,
"It started going negatively when [De Rossi] introduced me to Ellen and Ellen pretty much
just gave me a side glance out of her eye and didn't even say 'hello' or 'thank you
for protecting my mother, my wife and me.'"
"Every single thing, he remembered! Huh!"
And now, as the talk show host faces backlash from her crew, Majercak knew it was time to
speak up. With DeGeneres now at the mercy of her staff's complaints, her former bodyguard
knew this was his chance to share an experience that's "bugged" him for years.
"I see this person come across as being very enlightened and positive and awesome and everybody
loves her and is in awe and that's really not the case when you meet her in person.
When you see her on TV, people fall in love with her but it is a false facade and bravado.
You start hearing these stories and I was like, 'Man, there's got to be more to this.'
She's not the person she portrays to be that she's playing off of society. That's my opinion."
Furthermore, Majercak claimed that DeGeneres, quote, "doesn't care about anybody else as
long as she's getting what she wants." He added,
"People are starting to see her true self and that really lends to the support of what
my initial thoughts of her have been over the last six years."
Majercak's claims about how he was treated by DeGeneres while acting as her bodyguard
don't seem to cast the star in the best light. Despite that, there were plenty of mixed reactions
to what could be seen as an example of bad behavior or, frankly, totally normal actions
by someone who just happens to be famous. One unimpressed Twitter user wrote in response
to Majercak's accusations,
"Ellen has done a lot of good. However, she does a lot of mean passive-aggressive stuff
that just rubs me the wrong way (like the way she enjoys frightening her guests and
even her own staff)."
However, not everyone thought that the talk show host was in the wrong, like this person,
who tweeted,
"He's [crying] because she did not speak to him. Why do people expect her to be like she
is on her show 24hrs a day. She's human. Damn."
Someone else agreed, writing, quote, "He's paid to protect her, not be her bestie."
Whether DeGeneres' actions were acceptable or not, some people simply weren't surprised,
as one person tweeted,
"Everyone knows she's a wolf in sheep's clothing."
When Majercak accused DeGeneres of being less than friendly during their encounter, his
claim came not long after she faced accusations of being cold to one of the cheeriest YouTube
stars around: NikkieTutorials.
The popular online makeup guru opened up about appearing on Ellen's show after coming out
as transgender. On a Dutch talk show, Nikkie admitted the American host "wasn't as nice"
as others she's met in the industry. When she was then asked if DeGeneres was "distant
and cold," the YouTuber confirmed that, saying,
"Just a little...It was a huge honor to be on that stage with Ellen, but it wasn't as
nice as I thought."
Nikkie has also said that she may have been "naive" when going into the experience, explaining
that:
"[I] kind of expected to be welcomed with confetti cannons: 'Welcome to The Ellen DeGeneres
Show!' But instead [I] was greeted by an angry intern who was a bit overworked...I was expecting
a Disney show, but got Teletubbies after dark."
It sounds like DeGeneres may need to work on her people skills if she wants these kinds
of stories to stop popping up.
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