In a candid and unexpected revelation, comedian and actress Margaret Cho has made serious allegations against talk show icon Ellen DeGeneres, accusing her of being consistently unkind throughout their careers. The remarks came during Cho’s appearance on The Kelly Mantle Show podcast, where she opened up about her personal experiences with DeGeneres.
Cho, a longtime figure in stand-up comedy and television, reflected on her complicated dynamic with DeGeneres, whom she said she’s “known for such a long time.” However, the relationship was far from friendly, according to Cho.
“It’s so weird now, [the] public perception of her is more true to … she’s mean,” Cho stated bluntly during the podcast. “She was like a mean girl, kind of, but also she would be really nice.”
Cho suggested the tension between them may have stemmed from DeGeneres’s romantic relationships. “I think she always had negative feelings toward me because her girlfriends and wives always liked me. … There’s a kind of woman [who] loves a female comic.”
She continued, “But yeah, Ellen was really weird and not nice to me for most of my career.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Margaret-Cho-Joan-Rivers-Tribute-06225-2e3230ac4c124ce1a3ef63e7ed556563.jpg)
Cho’s allegations add to the broader controversy that has followed DeGeneres in recent years. In 2020, The Ellen DeGeneres Show became the subject of a major workplace investigation after former employees described a toxic environment behind the scenes. Accusations included bullying, intimidation, and mistreatment from senior staff members.
In response to that backlash, DeGeneres issued a public apology during the show’s 18th season premiere, stating that she took responsibility for the workplace culture and that necessary changes were being made. “I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres said at the time.
Although DeGeneres has since stepped back from daytime television, her reputation remains under scrutiny, especially in light of new personal accounts like Cho’s. The veteran comedian’s remarks have reignited conversations online about DeGeneres’s off-camera persona, contrasting it with the cheerful and compassionate image she cultivated on-screen for nearly two decades.
While Ellen DeGeneres has not responded to Cho’s claims as of this writing, the comments are already stirring discussion among fans and critics alike, many of whom see Cho’s experience as consistent with previous reports about the star’s behavior behind closed doors.