Beloved daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is currently under fire for a joke about her quarantine conditions.
In a recent segment of the show she filmed from her multi-million dollar home, DeGeneres says this worldwide lockdown is "like being in jail, is what it is...mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for ten days and everyone in here is gay." She uncomfortably added, "Ahh, the jokes that I have," after it didn't land quite how she thought it would.
The original video could be seen on YouTube but has since been switched to Private and can no longer be viewed. However, it quickly spread around the internet and many people aren't happy.
"Man it sure is funny how incarcerated people are not given access to proper hygiene and are at an astronomically higher chance of being sexually assaulted," wrote one commenter on Twitter.
"Put her in Jail DURING the quarantine where prisoners are literally getting coronavirus b/c they can’t afford bail," said another.
"Poor Ellen, languishing in her $15 MILLION MANSION," added another critic. "Yes, it’s just like prison.”
While the average American under this period of social isolation is worried about their families, struggling to pay rent, and/or can't even afford to get tested for coronavirus if they had to, it seems like most people's patience is wearing thin for celebrities' half-backed attempts to placate the masses with awkward covers of "Imagine" or complaining about being on lockdown in their mansions.
DeGeneres is an enthusiastic "real-estate tycoon" and has lived in and/or flipped at least 12 homes in the last twenty years, including various condos and beach houses around the Los Angeles area. Her most recent purchase in January was a $3.6 million home in California enclave Montecito.
If you're a millionaire with nothing to do, might I recommend taking a page out of Lady Gaga's playbook who rallied her celebrity friends to raise $35 million for COVID relief funds? More of that, please!