The coronavirus pandemic is setting some people on edge. Especially those who are still working in the real world and are at risk of catching Covid-19.
When talk show host Ellen DeGeneres made a joke about how the coronavirus quarantine is like jail, she made a lot of her fans angry. “One thing that I’ve learned from being in quarantine is that this is like being in jail. It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay,” she said.
One woman to call Ellen out on Twitter said that the celebrity should try working her daughter’s fast food job without any protective equipment. When celebrity expert Mike Sington told the mother that her daughter is a hero, she lost it and replied that the 19-year-old is a “slave to capitalism” and a “sacrifice demanded by the elites.” Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with Mike.
When Ellen DeGeneres made a joke about quarantine being like jail, a lot of her fans got angry at her
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According to celebrity expert and former NBCUniversal Senior Executive Mike, he got the humor behind the joke, but he knew that Ellen’s joke would backfire on her. “We’ve all seen the luxurious mansions she’s bought, so no one is going to feel sorry for her. Then she equates being gay with being in prison, which I think she thought she could get away with, being gay herself.”
“All that being said, it’s a joke that misfired. She’s involved in many charitable endeavors and gives away millions of dollars. I think people came down on her very hard, but Twitter has a pile-on mentality, and people are obviously stressed out now,” Mike told Bored Panda.
Plenty of people called Ellen out for her “tone-deaf” joke
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Mike says that he believes some celebrities are living in a bubble. “Spare us the shots of you self-isolating in your mansions. Now is truly not the time for this while so many are suffering. Many are on their own now, are bored, they aren’t being shot by the paparazzi, and they want to stay relevant. Currently, they don’t have staff saying you shouldn’t post that’.”
As for why so many people got angry at Ellen’s post, Mike thinks that “they’re literally climbing the walls now stuck at home or working under hazardous conditions.”
“Many celebrities seem entitled and out-of-touch right now, it’s impossible to relate to them under the current conditions. They should just lay low.”
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According to Mike, there should be a new rule where people don’t make any jokes about the pandemic. “I don’t think they should be censored, but use common sense,” the celebrity expert said. “We need entertainment though, so if celebrities want to produce entertaining content for us online, that’s great. The late-night hosts have been particularly adept at this—funny, without being offensive.”
“Also, Ellen’s ‘brand’ is ‘be kind’. She really crossed the line there with her stereotypical prison joke. Some comics could have gotten away with it. She should have known better,” he added.
One woman shared how her daughter who works in the fast food industry is exposed every day
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Image credits: MikeSington
She pointed out that her daughter isn’t a “hero” but a “slave”
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Not everyone agreed with the mother’s message. Some people obviously supported her and her daughter. Others thought that the mother was being overly dramatic, shouldn’t use words like “slave,” and said that there’s no real alternative to working for a living.
While a few people also pointed out that her daughter can’t be called a sacrifice for the elites if she’s helping provide fast food to ordinary folks.
However, the mother wasn’t the only person mad at 62-year-old Ellen. Some people said that Ellen’s joke about jail was “tone-deaf,” considering that the US is seeing more and more prison inmates testing positive for Covid-19.
While this “at-home edition” of her talk show was received poorly, Ellen’s previous quarantine videos were much more successful. Ellen’s wife Portia de Rossi is her camera operator and director while their dog Augie is key grip.
This isn’t the first time that celebrities have seen backlashes for what they do in self-isolation. For instance, actress Gal Gadot got quite a bit of heat for posting a video of her and other stars singing John Lennon’s Imagine. Some people pointed out that celebrities singing doesn’t really help anyone.
Here’s how some people reacted to the mother’s comments
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