A huge portion of the world is in quarantine right now.
Even celebrities in Hollywood seem to be sheltering at home.
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres took this time to air an episode right from her home. The intention was good as she said, “I wanted to start doing my new show as soon as possible because it’s really for people who are stuck at home, and especially my staff and crew. I love them, I miss them, and the best thing I can do to support them is to keep the show on the air.”
However, one of her jokes stirred drama after some people called her out for comparing self-quarantining during the coronavirus pandemic to “being in jail.”
“One thing that I’ve learned from being in quarantine is that people this is like being in jail, is what it is,” DeGeneres said. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay.”
The video, which as of Wednesday afternoon was listed as “unavailable” on YouTube, was deemed “tone deaf” by some viewers, who responded to the episode in the comments section of the platform.
Moreover, people took it to Twitter to share their thoughts.
People are literally dying in jail from COVID-19 while Ellen is out here making jokes about it. https://t.co/Z8cdnMDF5b
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) April 8, 2020
poor ellen got quarantined in a jail worth $24 million https://t.co/1X5kofZLdg pic.twitter.com/h4nBg68SBD
— kacper (@kacperplease) April 7, 2020
Ellen DeGeneres Comparing Isolation in Her Mansion to “Jail”?? Guess her designer clothes are her jumpsuit huh. pic.twitter.com/4otWe47QYI
— itsagundam (@GundamIsHere) April 7, 2020
People so far from being impacted by the criminal justice system love to use it as free labor and punch lines. Fuck you Ellen. Quarantine isn’t jail. Fame isn’t jail. Jail is jail. https://t.co/sgea84nk0q
— gia onomatopoeia (@missgiagiagia) April 7, 2020
In the middle of the criticisms, one came on her side and said it was just a joke.
For everyone “punching up” at #EllenDeGeneres (known to easily outraged snowflakes as #ellendegenerate), her jail reference was the first several words of a joke. You just didn’t get to the punchline because you’re lazy AF and probably don’t have that sort of attention span. pic.twitter.com/n77o9mDpzB
— Nick Tweetich (@Nick_Tweetich) April 9, 2020
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