Ellen's Nightmare Continues: 'Bachelorette' Alum Ali Fedotowsky Says DeGeneres 'Made Me Feel Stupid' and 'Was Laughing at Me' During Talk Show Interview
Fedotowsky recalled her appearance on DeGeneres' talk show... and it wasn't pretty.
Jan. 2 2025, Published 4:40 p.m. ET
Former Bachelorette star Ali Fedotowsky has slammed Ellen DeGeneres, saying the ex-talk show queen made her "feel stupid" during an appearance.
Fedotowsky complained the comedian, who has turned off several members of her own staff, laughed at her during a 2010 appearance, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
'Bachelorette' alum Fedotowsky called out DeGeneres years after appearing on her show.
The 40-year-old, who is now married and has taken the last name of her husband Kevin Manno, sat down for a chat with Kaitlyn Bristowe on her Off the Vine podcast.
Birstowe asked her what it was like meeting DeGeneres, a hero of both of theirs, and Fedotowsky's response was blunt.
She said: "It's not that she was mean per se, she just made me feel stupid."
She soon softened her tone, offering a possible excuse and explanation for DeGeneres's behavior.
"I don't think she's a bad person. I just think that sometimes when you do a job like that all day, every single day for years, you're just kind of over it."
Fedotowsky tried to liven-up her appearance, coming out dancing and grooving, as was the comic's trademark at the time. But she believes that likely backfired.
She added: "She’s talking to people who are crafted, and then here I am, this 24-year-old famous-for-no-reason comes on her show and she’s like, 'I gotta talk to one of these idiots again?'"
Her appearance became so awkward, at one point the host asked her: "Are you drunk?"
Fedotowsky concluded: "And instead of her laughing with me, she was laughing at me. I just felt really stupid."
The ex-Bachelorette hasn't been the only one to speak out against DeGeneres. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, former employees accused her of fostering a toxic work environment rife with alleged bullying, racism, and sexual harassment on her syndicated talk show.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show was axed in 2022 after 19 successful seasons.
The 66-year-old addressed her downfall in her recent Netflix special, claiming she was "kicked out of show business" for "being mean."
She told fans at a Los Angeles theater: "The hate went on for a long time and I would try to avoid looking at the news. The 'be kind' girl wasn't kind. That was the headline."
She continued: "There's no mean people in show business... I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps. Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? Had I ended my show by saying, 'Go f--- yourself,' people would've been pleasantly surprised."
The former TV host admitted she "didn't know how to be a boss," telling the audience she "went to 'Charlie's Chuckle Hutt'" instead of business school.
"The show was called Ellen, and everybody was wearing T-shirts that said 'Ellen,' and there were buildings on the Warner Brothers lot that said 'Ellen,' but I don't know that that meant I should be in charge," she explained.
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DeGeneres fired back during a comedy special on Netflix following the axing of her show.
The former talk show host said she spent two years "laying low" but eventually was able to dance without "crying."
"I'm making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating. It took a long time for me to want to do anything again."
She ended her set by telling her audience that she thinks the world needs "more laughter and less drama."
