Singer-songwriter Greyson Chance has slammed his former mentor Ellen DeGeneres in a recent interview and called her ‘manipulative,’ ‘self-centered,’ and ‘opportunistic’. Chance has had a long working relationship with DeGeneres, who promised to launch his career as a child star.
The 25 year old pianist shot to fame in 2010 when a video of him singing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” in front of his schoolmates went viral on YouTube. A week later, he made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Greyson Chance Calls Out Ellen DeGeneres for her Behaviour
Chance has opened up about his relationship with Ellen, who flew him to LA shortly after his video went viral. She then bought him a piano and even co-created a label to help launch his musical career. The musician has, however, now claimed that things went sour quickly.
“I’ve never met someone more manipulative, more self-centered, and more blatantly opportunistic than her,” says Chance, adding that after his appearance on her show, the talk show host became “domineering and way too controlling.”
Chance revealed that Ellen was watching every little detail of his life and career, stating, “My whole week, my whole month, my whole year could change [with] one text message from her. That was horrible. If she had an opinion of any sort, the whole thing changed.”
“She would come in and look at a rack, yell at stylists, berate people in front of me and say, ‘This is what you’re wearing on the show,’ She was just degrading to people,” Chance recalled. He added that apart from controlling his touring and recording schedules, Ellen also dominated what he wore and what sort of content he watched.
DeGeneres Abandoned him After His Albums Underperformed, Says Chance
The Waiting Outside the Lines singer further revealed that when his career started to fade, DeGeneres began to lose interest in him. After his second album, Truth Be Told, Part 1 underperformed, Chance says that he was completely abandoned by the 64 year old television mogul, who started avoiding his phone calls.
“I couldn’t get ahold of her. Couldn’t talk to her. Whenever I would come on the show, it was such a fake smile. She wouldn’t even ask, ‘How are you doing? How are you holding up?’ It was just like, ‘Here’s what we’re going to talk about. We’ll see you on there,’” he said.
Chance Made his Final Appearance on Ellen’s Show in 2019
Chance appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show for the final time in 2019, after he came out as gay. He now recalls how Ellen Degeneres congratulated him and pretended as if nothing had happened over the previous few years. “She said, ‘How have you been?’ And that just killed me inside because I was like, ’What do you mean how have I f–king been? Where have you been?” he stated.
He continued, “I hadn’t spoken to her in years … that’s so messed up, that you’re now showing the world as if we’re so tight. We’re so good. And behind the scenes, you are this insanely manipulative person.”
Ellen was also accused of toxic behavior by her show’s former crew members in 2020. She is yet to comment on the allegations made by Chance. Meanwhile, the singer has just released his new album titled Palladium.
Stay tuned for more news and updates.
