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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daisy Herman

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's most controversial moments ever as show finishes after 19 years

After 19 seasons and thousands of celebrity guests, The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be coming to an end on 26 May.

The daytime talk shows host, Ellen DeGeneres, 64, is gearing up for her final episode on Thursday.

Ellen first popped onto screens across the world in 2003, and has since won 64 Daytime Emmy Awards in its almost 20 years of broadcasting.

To honour the long-running show, a host of huge names will be joining Ellen in the finale to share their memories and favourite moments.

This special line-up includes former First Lady Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Serena Williams, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Diane Keaton, David Letterman and Ellen’s wife, Portia de Rossi.

The Ellen Show is finishing after 19 years and over 4000 guests (The Ellen Show)

But things haven't always gone quite so well over the last 19 years with over 4,000 guests...

Dakota Johnson

A particularly awkward Ellen Show moment was in 2019 when Ellen accused Dakota Johnson of not inviting her to her party.

Ellen playfully joked that the actress had not invited her to her 30th birthday party, but Dakota shot back that this was not what had happened.

The awkward moment with Ellen and Dakota Johnson went viral (The Ellen Show)

She said: “That’s not the truth Ellen, you were invited.

“The last time I was on the show, you gave me a bunch of s**t about not inviting you, but I didn't even know you wanted to be invited.

“I didn't even know you liked me. Asking everybody.”

Ellen accused Dakota Johnson of not inviting her to her party, but the actress shot back (The Ellen Show)

The clip went viral and is one of the most well-known, and controversial, interviews in the Ellen Show’s history.

Ellen’s producer responded to the incident by saying the host was "out of town".

In fact, Ellen was attending an NFL game with George Bush at the time of the party.

Mariah Carey

Ellen was criticised for pressuring Mariah Carey to clear pregnancy rumours in 2008 by offering her a glass of champagne on the show to ‘toast to not being pregnant’.

The singer said the situation was “extremely uncomfortable” for her, as she was forced to pretend to sip the alcoholic drink to clear the rumours.

Mariah said: “I can’t believe you did this to me Ellen. This is peer pressure!”

Mariah Carey admitted the interview made her "extremely uncomfortable" (The Ellen Show)

Ellen then announced: “You’re pregnant!” as the songstress faked a drink.

Mariah sadly had a miscarriage soon after this episode, which she only revealed years later when she announced she and then-husband Nick Cannon were expecting twins.

In an interview with Vulture , she admitted: “I was extremely uncomfortable with that moment is all I can say.

“And I really have had a hard time grappling with the aftermath.”

Sofia Vergara

Another Ellen interview which is awkward viewing is a conversation with Modern Family star Sofia Vergara.

During the 2015 interview, Ellen is seen to be making fun of Sofia’s accent.

Modern Family star Sofia Vergara is from Colombia (The Ellen Show)

When discussing a CoverGirl commercial they had both filmed, Ellen said: “"They give her the hardest lines too because we have to describe what's in the CoverGirl makeup and she has such a hard time pronouncing any of the ingredients.”

Despite public backlash, Sofia tweeted a clip of the moment defending the host saying it was a comedy skit that she was aware of.

Sofia defended the host saying she was 'in' on the joke (The Ellen Show)

She said: “Two comedians having fun with each other to entertain.

“I was never a victim guys, I was always in on the joke.”

Celine Dion

Another older Ellen interview from 2007 with Celine Dion resurfaced, and people have criticised the host for a ‘rude’ comment about the star’s son.

While promoting her album Taking Chances, Celine sat down with Ellen.

Ellen decided to make a joke about her six year old son’s hair, but it awkwardly fell flat.

Celine Dion was forced to depend her son's hair length in the interview (The Ellen Show)

A picture of Celine’s family on the screen with little René-Charles Angélil with his parents.

Ellen said: “It seems like you’re busy with something, because you’re forgetting to cut your son’s hair.”

Celine shot back: “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, I don’t have a problem,” Ellen defensively said, “That is some long hair.”

Celine's son René-Charles Angélil had longer hair at six years old (The Ellen Show)

Celine said that no matter what she does she could never please everyone and said that it was her son’s choice to have long hair.

“When he’s ready, I’ll cut it,” she added, making the episode tense viewing in hindsight.

Katy Perry

Ellen’s pre-interview research seems to fall flat during one episode with pop star Katy Perry as she forgot that she had been married before.

In the 2017 show, Ellen announced that the duo would be playing a fun game called ‘Will You Perry Me?’, where Katy had to choose between two people she would rather marry.

Katy joked: “Do I have to get married… again?”

Katy Perry had to remind Ellen that she was married to Russell Brand (The Ellen Show)

Ellen replied: “You were not married.”

Katy responded: “I was when I was 25.”

“Were you?” questioned a confused Ellen, to which Katy said: “Yeah, it’s been a long time, honey. No wrinkles, no lines.”

Ellen had even given Katy wedding presents for her previous marriage (The Ellen Show)

She awkwardly added in a whisper: “His name was Russell Brand.”

Even though Ellen said she “forgot” about Katy’s ex husband, Katy pointed out that the host had given her wedding presents on the show.

There was an awkward moment until DeGeneres joked, “That’ll be cut out.”

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