Earlier this year, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she would not be renewing her contract as host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show once it runs out in 2022. According to the comedian, she had actually intended to leave at the end of her previous contract, but once she renewed, she remained adamant that this would be her absolute final one.
Speculation was rife that the decision to walk away was inspired by controversies that surrounded the show as a 'toxic workplace,' rumors that she was very keen to immediately shut down. But as she gets to look back on a near two-decade journey at NBC, it is not just her employees who have stories of bad experiences on the show.
Ellen is quite unreserved in her interviewing approach and has developed a reputation for making her guests uncomfortable throughout her tenure. From asking extremely personal questions to scaring people on national television, here is a list of guests who won't remember their appearances on Ellen quite so fondly.
9 Michelle Obama's Shoulder Rash
In the final months of former First Lady Michelle Obama's time at the White House, Ellen taped a segment where she took her to a CVS Pharmacy to buy supplies. As they worked their way around the store, the comedian took it upon herself to announce to the rest of the patrons that Obama had a rash.
The first lady said it was only a shoulder rash, but Ellen - on megaphone - shouted, "Eh, a little lower than that!"
8 Ellen Ghosted Dakota Johnson's Birthday Party
During an appearance on Ellen in 2019, actress Dakota Johnson found herself being grilled by the host as to why she wasn't invited to her birthday party that year. As it turned out, Johnson had in fact invited her, but she failed to turn up. Ellen scrambled to verify this, as her guest complained, "I didn't even know you liked me!"
Cue a few seconds of awkward silence.
7 Elisabeth Moss Can't Twerk
The Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss visited Ellen in April 2018. Unfortunately for her, the comedian decided to pull receipts of her on a previous appearance. In it, Moss was supposed to be twerking, but instead, she was doing some weird kind of jazz hands breakdance.
She was left red-faced as Ellen had the tape replayed, but at least she got to redeem herself with a more accurate version of a twerk dance.
6 Hassan Minhaj Calls Out Ellen
Hassan Minhaj took the opportunity to call out his fellow comic when she mispronounced his name in April 2019. In typical comical fashion, he explained how people often do this: "People always mispronounce it. 'Hasseen Minaja! Hussein! I'm so sorry I can't pronounce it, meet my son, Hixbie Witherthrottle III.'"
With his parents present in the audience, he had to go through the process of teaching everyone how to correctly pronounce it.
5 Meghan Markle Stuck At Home
The Duchess of Sussex recently featured in a segment where she had to prank some vendors on the street, on the strict instructions of Ellen via a hidden microphone. The antic is said to have left a lot of royal family fans unimpressed.
The subsequent backlash apparently got Markle so upset, that she reportedly barely ever leaves the house.
4 Taylor Swift Isn't Dating Zac Efron
Musician Taylor Swift found herself on the receiving end of Ellen's gags when the host kept insisting that she was dating Zac Efron. Despite Swift's insistence that she wasn't, Ellen kept on doubling down until it appeared that her guest was on the brink of tears.
It was not the first time doing this to Swift either, having once previously teased her, "Let's talk about your time in prison."
3 Celine Dion Won't Please Everyone
In her early days on the show, Ellen made the mistake of questioning why singer Celine Dion never cut her son, René-Charles Angélil's very long hair. "Do you have a problem with that?" Celine asked Ellen, as the mood quickly turned tense.
"Whatever I will do, I won't please everyone," the Canadian musician said.
2 Ellen Took Issue With Cardi B's Dancing
Once again, Ellen had an issue with one of her guests' dancing. Showing videos of Cardi B dancing at Coachella, she said, "It looks like you're getting ready to give birth right there!" This was back in April 2018, three months before Cardi delivered her daughter, Kulture.
The rapper at least tried to diffuse the awkwardness as she responded, "Well, you know, they say the more you move, the easier it will come out."
1 Channing Tatum Fear Of Porcelain Dolls
Ellen had done her research on Channing Tatum before he came to her show in September 2014. She quizzed him on a real-life fear that he still harbored, and the actor admitted that he was absolutely terrified of porcelain dolls. Unsurprisingly, the host had two of these specially prepared for Tatum and she brought them out, causing him to curl up in his seat.
When she was done teasing him, Tatum retorted sarcastically, "That wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed it so much!"