Despite Being Called Out For Gaslighting Taylor Swift Ages Ago, Ellen DeGeneres Showed No Remorse
Once upon a time, Ellen DeGeneres was known as the talk show host who was the epitome of her "be kind" mantra to fans. Celebrities flocked to be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and always appeared to have a good time during their appearances. Even if the envelope was pushed, it did not appear to put DeGeneres in a bad light with most believing that everything done was done in good fun. That is until old segments began to resurface of celebrity interviews where they were treated in what can only be explained as uncomfortable to watch and inappropriate. And one of those interviews was with Taylor Swift in 2013.
Red was an album that Swift wanted to release to show that she was musically growing. While she had made the jump unofficially from country star to pop star, this was the album that solidified Swift in the pop world. Red also opened the door to many questions fans had about the singer's personal relationships. After all, Swift had never been one to shy away from writing songs about her exes. And Red was no exception.
This knowledge prompted DeGeneres and her producers to have an entire segment on people that Swift dated and some she did not. The segment made the 1989 singer visibly uncomfortable and on the verge of tears. And even after Swift stated, "This makes me feel so bad about myself. Every time I come up here, you put a different dude up there on the screen, and it makes me really question what I stand for as a human being,"
DeGeneres did not stop, a move that potentially became the reason why Swift would not appear on the talk show again for several years, despite the number of albums released after Red. Here is what Taylor Swift has said about Ellen DeGeneres and that awkward interview about her dating habits.
Why The 2013 Interview Between Ellen DeGeneres And Taylor Swift Resurfaced
In 2020, the curtain started to be opened and the real inner workings of what happened in Hollywood started to be revealed. One of those celebrities that was hard hit by this move was DeGeneres.
Specifically because of her request for everyone to always "be kind to one another" when DeGeneres could not abide by this mantra herself.
There had been grumblings for years of controversies behind the scenes and discontent and mistreatment of employees who worked on TheEllen DeGeneres Show.
However, with the #metoo movement and Black Lives Matter, incidents that were once brushed under the rug in what some called a toxic workplace were no longer being done. The mistreatment was not left to employees alone, however.
Many celebrities had been visibly upset by the happenings on the show. Whether they spoke up about it is another issue.
Be it Cher, Justin Bieber, Sofia Vergara, Nikkitutorials, Hasan Minhaj, or others, DeGeneres appeared to go out of her way to make these folks uncomfortable on her show. A fact that these celebrities and more may have chosen to ignore as part and parcel of promoting their latest work.
But fans of these singers and actors did not let DeGeneres' attitude go unnoticed. And neither did the legion of Swifties after Swift made her 2013 appearance on the show.
What Taylor Swift Fans Have Had To Say About The Ellen DeGeneres Show Appearance
When the original interview aired, viewers and audience members likely believed that the banter between Swift and DeGeneres was scripted.
At the bare minimum, it was outlined and Swift agreed to the line of questioning that was being fired her way. But after the rumors swirled that the NBC talk show host is not as kind as she appears to be, watching the interview with fresh eyes caused quite a backlash not only from Swifties but women in general.
There is no denying that the Blank Space singer has been involved in several high-profile romances. A fact that should not be a shock for someone Swift's age.
But the men she had dated, and those Swift had not, were lined up on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for a game of sorts in which Swift was supposed to ring a bell if she had dated them. This move was not only seen as sexist but hurtful as well.
After the interview resurfaced, there were plenty of social media sites that covered it. In particular, a TikTok user posted "someone who deserves an apology talk show edition" with the interview attached. The comments let the world know just what Swift's fans felt about the decade-old appearance.
"Do u think Ellen thrives off of making guests uncomfortable?" the main topic read. It was immediately followed up with, "She's on the brink of tears and everyone is laughing and Ellen is ignoring all her requests to stop."
"Why do they always do this to women, like our only accomplishments are who we've dated. It's so sad," another person wrote.
Another still stated, "Ellen turns gaslighting into 'comedy."
Whether this was the reaction from fans in 2013 is unclear. But with new glasses on watching the clip from the show, there is not one person, fan or not, that believes the treatment that Swift received was appropriate.
Taylor Swift Has Remained Mum On The 2013 Interview
While Swift's fans have been outspoken about her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Swift has chosen to remain silent on the matter. In fact, it appears that the Shake It Off singer and DeGeneres are friends. And that could very well be why Swift has never spoken about the interview.
From 2008 through 2019, Swift appeared on the talk show nearly a dozen times. While the talk show circuit included DeGeneres' show when it came to promoting music or films, it would be hard to imagine that the Bejeweled singer would appear on it so many times if she was uncomfortable.
There is also the possibility that the two women hashed out any issues there were from the interview privately. If this was the case, then there would be no reason for Swift or DeGeneres to speak out about an old interview.
It is also entirely possible that people let things slide in the past that are no longer seen as appropriate. And because of this, perhaps Swift does not want to live in the past but move forward.
This could especially be true given that DeGeneres no longer has a show and can no longer put celebrities through the wringer as she did years ago.
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