Ellen DeGeneres show guest claims host was 'moody' and changed when on camera

By Mirror | 3yrs ago | 2 min read

Ellen DeGeneres has been accused of changing her 'mood and personality' by a former guest on her show. The 62-year-old talk show host has been hit by a number of accusations about the 'toxic' atmosphere behind the scenes of her popular daytime show and the fingers continue to be pointed at her.

This time it is 29-year-old Dana Dimatteo that has spoken out about her experience on the show after she was selected to be part of a game during filming. She has hit out at the comedian, claiming that her 'kind' character while the cameras were on, changed to 'moody' when the breaks arrived.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Dana said that when the cameras stopped rolling, Ellen would "sit moodily in silence on her couch, not acknowledging anyone."

Dana also alleged that Ellen "didn’t say one word to the audience unless the cameras were on." She went on to explain some of the show 'rules' she was told by the producers, in case they were chosen for the game.

Dana had flown from Chicago to Los Angeles to attend the show with a friend after it "took us so long to get tickets." She said that producers told them they were "not allowed to be funnier or smarter than Ellen, that she is the star and the comedian, not us."

There were also rules about how they could act and that it was important that they "only speak if she asked us a question." Dana claims that she felt it "humiliating" that she had to "scream and jump around backstage as a test."

The game segment was called Make It Rain, and contestants tried to win cash while they got soaking wet. Dana said that after the game they were led backstage and then left for "pretty much the whole show in our soaking wet clothes for someone to bring us dry things to change into."

In one last sleight, Dana said that being on the show, "you can’t be yourself, you have to clap constantly and laugh at things that aren’t funny.” Ellen has been hit with a number of complaints by former employees about the culture that exist backstage on her show.

Warner Media are investigating allegations of bullying, racism and sexual harassment that have been reported. For her part, Ellen has apologised to her employees in a letter and admitted that she should have taken more responsibility as her name was on the show. Ellen insisted that she is "committed to ensuring this does not happen again."