'Ghosted by Ellen': Julie Bowen Left Without Career Path After DeGeneres Groomed Her for Talk Show Takeover
Oct. 1 2023, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Ellen DeGeneres once promised to groom Modern Family actress Julie Bowen for talk show stardom — only to allegedly cruelly ghost her, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The bubbly sitcom star, 53, was a frequent guest before the disgraced 65-year-old TV talk queen fled the air in 2022 with her tail between her legs after coming under fire for presiding over a toxic work environment.
"Julie was a great sport on Ellen's show," spilled an insider. "She and Ellen hit it off and it led to Julie making many follow-up visits, not just as a guest — she also did sketches and took part in Ellen's famous bit about scaring guests.
"She was more than just a celebrity who dropped by. She was part of the show's extended family — to the point where Ellen was pretty overtly grooming Julie for more hosting work, potentially on one of the other shows Ellen was producing."
But now, sources spilled to the National Enquirer that DeGeneres is treating the Modern Family mom like chopped liver and that's left Bowen unable to "find her groove" since her Emmy-winning sitcom ended in 2020.
"Julie guest-hosted the show, which was an extremely rare event and shows how much Ellen and her brother, Vance, trusted Bowen to get the tone right and keep the audience happy," snitched a spy.
"Since Ellen pulled back from Hollywood and her future ventures, she's also pulled away from Julie, which is sad because you can see how teaming up with Ellen would have been perfect.
"But Ellen has ghosted her and left Julie without a career path."
RadarOnline.com has reached out to DeGeneres and Bowen's reps for comment.
The embattled ex-host had a rough time since being accused of fostering a toxic workplace. DeGeneres said goodbye to her syndicated daytime talk show in May 2022 — and didn't hesitate to address the scandal before ending her television reign.
“If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year,” DeGeneres said on Today. “I really did think about not coming back, because it was devastating. It started with attacks on me and attacking everything that I stand for and believe in and built my career around ... I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy.”
She claimed she had “no idea” of all the problems on her set. "I don't know how I could have known when there's 225 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings," DeGeneres said. “Unless I actually stayed here until that last person goes home at night.”
“It's my name on the show, so clearly it affects me, and I have to be the one to stand up and say this can't be tolerated,” she also noted.
Months later, DeGeneres' longtime TV DJ and her beloved friend Stephen 'tWitch' Boss suddenly ended his life.
"I’m heartbroken. tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children - Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia," she said in a statement.
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As RadarOnline.com reported, tWitch took his own life in December 2022. Ellen's former co-host was found dead in a Los Angeles motel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police were alerted to the hotel for a shooting. He was 40 years old.