Ellen DeGeneres thought she could weigh in from her UK mansion and nobody would call her out.
She was wrong.
And Megyn Kelly dropped one brutal fact that left Ellen DeGeneres squirming.
Ellen DeGeneres weighs in from UK on Minneapolis ICE protests
Ellen DeGeneres posted a video message supporting anti-ICE protesters after the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7.
DeGeneres filmed herself from what appeared to be her $19 million UK estate expressing solidarity with demonstrators.
"I just wanted to say I am so sorry for what is happening in Minneapolis and our country, really, but specifically Minneapolis right now because that's where I shot my last stand-up special and everybody there couldn't have been more lovely," DeGeneres said.
She praised peaceful protesters before adding, "I'm proud of everyone who's protesting peacefully, and I am sorry for anyone who has been hurt just for protesting."
The comedian fled to England with wife Portia de Rossi shortly after Trump's 2024 election victory.
DeGeneres sold her Montecito home in August 2024 and now lives somewhere in the English countryside.
Her sudden concern for American domestic policy from across the Atlantic drew immediate mockery.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly wasn't about to let DeGeneres lecture Americans while hiding out in the UK.
Megyn Kelly exposes Ellen DeGeneres' toxic workplace scandal
Kelly went after DeGeneres on her show, attacking both the anti-ICE video and DeGeneres' past behavior toward her own staff.
"Ellen DeGeneres felt the need to weigh in," Kelly said sarcastically. "And I know you like I have been asking yourself — what, what would Ellen think of all this?"
Then Kelly went for the throat.
She reminded viewers why DeGeneres lost her daytime show in the first place.
"Let's not forget why Ellen lost her daytime show," Kelly stated. "It's because she was a bully."
Kelly then dropped a bombshell allegation she said came from a reliable source with direct knowledge of the show.
"She had a rule — I'm very reliably informed — you were not allowed to look her in the eye as one of her producers when you walked past her in the hallway," Kelly claimed.
Australian Today show producer Neil Breen made similar claims back in 2020 when he revealed DeGeneres' staff gave bizarre instructions before her 2013 appearance.
"Neil, no one is to talk to Ellen. You don't talk to her, you don't approach her, you don't look at her," Breen recalled being told.
The no-eye-contact rule became one of the most talked-about allegations during the 2020 BuzzFeed investigation into The Ellen DeGeneres Show's workplace culture.
Current and former employees described a culture of fear where staff were terrified of minor infractions.
One employee told BuzzFeed that workers were "instructed by their direct managers to not speak to DeGeneres if they saw her around the office."
DeGeneres denied the eye contact rule during a 2020 Zoom call with staff, calling it "insane" and "just not true."
But the damage was done.
WarnerMedia fired three top producers — Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and Jonathan Norman — over allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show limped along for two more seasons before ending in May 2022 after 19 years.
DeGeneres later admitted she was "kicked out of show business" because "the 'be kind' girl wasn't kind."
Megyn Kelly calls out Ellen's "willful ignorance" on ICE
Kelly didn't stop with DeGeneres' workplace history.
She connected the bullying allegations to DeGeneres' political commentary.
"And so it's no surprise that Ellen DeGeneres is totally fine with what these so-called protesters, terrorists are doing in the streets of Minneapolis," Kelly said.
Kelly accused DeGeneres of "willful ignorance" about what actually happened.
The protests erupted after ICE agents shot Good three times during a confrontation at a demonstration.
Federal officials said Good was sitting in a car that struck an agent, leading to the shooting.
But Kelly pointed out that DeGeneres was accepting the protesters' version of events without question.
"She's been fed the same lies we've heard from CNN now from the beginning, and she's chosen to believe them because she's ignorant and it's willful, it's not blind ignorance, it's willful ignorance," Kelly explained. "It suits her ideological purposes."
Kelly noted the hypocrisy of DeGeneres fleeing America after Trump's win but still trying to influence American politics from abroad.
"Shame on her. Enjoy England," Kelly said. "I'm sorry that our friends across the pond are stuck with Ellen, but let's face it, they gave us Harry and Meghan, so they deserve it."
The pattern Kelly identified is clear — someone who allegedly treated her own staff with contempt now lectures Americans about compassion and justice.
DeGeneres built a billion-dollar empire on the motto "be kind" while reportedly forbidding employees from making eye contact.
She fired staffers for taking medical leave and bereavement days according to former employees.
Now she's praising protesters from the safety of her English mansion while Americans deal with the consequences of lax immigration enforcement.
Kelly's takedown exposed what many already knew — DeGeneres' carefully crafted public persona was always a fraud.
The woman who preached kindness allegedly created a workplace described by employees as "dominated by fear."
And now she expects Americans to take her political opinions seriously.
Sources:
- Krystie Lee Yandoli, "Former Employees Say Ellen's 'Be Kind' Talk Show Mantra Masks A Toxic Work Culture," BuzzFeed News, July 17, 2020.
- James Gordon, "Megyn Kelly makes shocking new claim about Ellen DeGeneres's behind-the-scenes behavior," Daily Mail, January 20, 2026.
- Associated Press, "Ellen DeGeneres draws criticism for comments on Minneapolis protests," Fox News, January 19, 2026.
- "Ellen Finally Addresses The Rumor That She Doesn't Allow Eye Contact On Set," Cinema Blend, August 21, 2020.
