Ellen DeGeneres was known as the “Queen of Nice” for decades before her toxic workplace scandal exploded in 2020. Fans were stunned to learn that DeGeneres had mistreated her own staffers in seemingly brutal ways. In the years since then, DeGeneres’ reputation has taken a nosedive. In the eyes of many who she is now the “Queen of Mean.”
Decades prior, it seems that the legendary Johnny Carson himself saw right through DeGeneres. Indeed, it’s been revealed that he banned DeGeneres from The Tonight Show decades before her true colors were exposed to the world.
Carson Bans DeGeneres From Tonight Show
DeGeneres was only 28 years-old when she made his history during her debut appearance on The Tonight Show back in November of 1986. That night, she became the first-ever female comedian to receive the honor of being called over to the couch by Carson.
DeGeneres was invited back to the late night talk show on two more occasions. On her third appearance, however, she upset Carson so much so that he banned her from The Tonight Show for the rest of his tenure.
Charlie Barrett, who was The Tonight Show’s publicist at the time, later claimed that when DeGeneres appeared on the late night talk show for a third time in May of 1987, she was told not to make a certain joke. However, DeGeneres decided to do so anyway.
It didn’t take long for this to blow up in DeGeneres’ face in a big way. Mark Malkoff revealed what happened next in his new book “Love Johnny Carson.”
“Barrett was there in the green room after the show when Jim [McCawley] chastised Ellen in front of everyone,” Malkoff wrote in an excerpt obtained by Fox News. “Pointing at her, he said, ‘I told you not to do that material.’ Barrett recalled Ellen looking embarrassed. Jim made Ellen and her guest leave, saying, ‘You won’t be back again too soon.'”
DeGeneres was indeed banned from the show, much to her humiliation. She didn’t return again until 1989, appearing on a night that Jay Leno was guest-hosting. As for Carson, it appears that he never wanted anything to do with DeGeneres ever again.
DeGeneres’ Reputation Plummets
This story would have been far more surprising just a few years ago, when DeGeneres was widely beloved by most Americans. Unfortunately for DeGeneres, her toxic workplace scandal led to the vast majority of Americans reaching the same conclusion about her that Carson came to decades ago.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show aired from 2003 until 2022. For much of that time, DeGeneres was known as the “Queen of Nice.” She even ended each episode by telling her audience to “be kind” to one another.
That all changed in 2020, when DeGeneres’ toxic workplace scandal broke. It was then that DeGeneres was accused of presiding over a set that was rampant with bullying, racism, and sexism.
In the years since her talk show went off the air, DeGeneres has complained that she was “kicked out of show business” for being “mean.”
“The hate went on for a long time. And I would try to avoid looking at the news,” DeGeneres whined last year. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. That was the headline.”
DeGeneres Flees America
This undoubtedly played a major role in DeGeneres fleeing the country at the end of 2024. Tired of being a pariah in her own nation, DeGeneres moved to England with her wife Portia de Rossi. They remain there to this day.
“Ellen really felt she had made her mark on the industry. But that was diminished when she was canceled over her alleged treatment of her staff,” a source told Daily Mail in November of 2024. “Then to have celebrities call her out one by one was so hurtful.”
Carson sadly died back in 2005 at the age of 79, so he never got to see DeGeneres get her comeuppance. Unlike DeGeneres, Carson remains one of the most beloved entertainers of all time even twenty years after his death. God bless him for seeing right through DeGeneres long before the rest of us did!