As viewers learn more about the allegedly toxic workplace culture behind The Ellen DeGeneres
Show, stories of the talk show host's questionable behavior have begun to resurface to underscore
the show's less-than-stellar track record. For instance, Redditors have focused in on
how DeGeneres practically forced singer Mariah Carey to confess her pregnancy, even as she
hesitated to do so on-air.
Prior to Carey's 2008 appearance on DeGeneres' show, tabloids were overrun with rumors that
the pop sensation was pregnant with her first child. However, once DeGeneres got her in
the hot seat, the "Hero" singer refused to confirm or deny her status. That's when DeGeneres
pulled out her secret weapon: Ellen pressured Mariah to take a sip of champagne. When Mariah
seemed to fake her sip, the audience applauded, with Ellen treating it as confirmation she
was pregnant.
Carey had a miscarriage just weeks after the interview, an experience she didn't reveal
until she announced she was pregnant with twins in 2010. And this time, the reveal was
her choice.
"You said, 'This time, we're gonna map this baby out.'"
"Right."
"We're gonna do our best, but it's up to, y'know, we are not in charge."
When Carey announced that she and her former husband Nick Cannon were expecting twins,
the star also revealed that she'd suffered a miscarriage on the path to parenthood. Carey
told Access Hollywood,
"It kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult...When
that happened, I wasn't able to even talk to anybody about it. That was not easy."
She later told the Daily Mail that, while she was delighted to discover she was pregnant
shortly after she and Cannon got married, her dreams were dashed when an ultrasound
revealed her miscarriage the day she and Cannon were set to travel to Aspen, Colorado to celebrate
Christmas with friends. She explained to the tabloid,
"I was going to tell them I was pregnant and make little baby ornaments with them because
obviously I didn't know until the scan...That was the lowest point for me. I wasn't sure
why it happened. I was working on 'Touch My Body' so I was very thin and working out a
lot. I didn't know you had to stop exercising and stop doing yoga when you're pregnant.
Nobody told me these things."
That's why she wanted, quote, "to hold on to a shred of privacy" the second time around,
per an interview with Access Hollywood. In keeping with her desire for privacy, Carey
told People in 2019 that she wants to make sure her twins, son Moroccan and daughter
Monroe, remain grounded amid all the glitz and glamour she and her former husband Nick
Cannon are constantly surrounded by. She told the magazine,
"It's hard, but I try to keep them grounded so they don't think everything is just handed
to them. Right now it's like 'I want this,' and I'm like 'You're asking me for something
that costs $20.' I can't even imagine having, like, one dollar as a kid because we didn't
have money going around. So they have to appreciate those things...They're a lot but they give
me so much love in return. I wouldn't be the same person without them."
Carey also acknowledged her bipolar diagnosis and how her childhood environment intensified
her symptoms, but also her, quote, "willingness to seek a long-term solution for it." However,
the experience has taught her about the kind of life she wants to give her own kids. She
told People,
"The most important thing I can do for my children is give them what I didn't really
have: a chance to live in a safe and secure home surrounded by people who love and support
them unconditionally."
And thanks to her and Cannon's concerted effort to co-parent effectively and happily, Roc
and Roe have all the love and support they'll ever need in life. Cannon told Us Weekly,
"We got our egos and this selfish behavior, [but] when you put your children first, you
understand that it's all unconditional love. All that other stuff just falls apart. I always
want what's best for my children."
An inside source confirmed Carey and Cannon's dedication to their kids, telling Entertainment
Tonight,
"They are both fully committed to being the best parents they can be to the twins. Family
is Mariah and Nick's number one priority and they are such great, hands-on parents. They
call and text pretty frequently about the kids and it's always direct. They don't go
through nannies or assistants."
Carey added that the two have developed new love for each other, which makes the situation
easier, too. In a 2017 interview, Carey told Entertainment Tonight,
"He's a good guy. It's not that hard to make it work. Now we can laugh, and joke, and do
the good parts of when we had a relationship."
As for Ellen DeGeneres, her reputation has taken a huge hit, in the midst of a talk show
contract that runs out in 2022, according to Fox Business. In a statement to employees,
DeGeneres said of the "toxic workplace" allegations,
"It's been way too long, but we're finally having conversations about fairness and justice.
We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I'm
glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention."
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