Aussie star stands by her wife in strife
DE ROSSI COMES OUT IN SUPPORT OF BESIEGED DEGENERES
NEW YORK: Portia de Rossi has broken her silence over claims that her wife Ellen DeGeneres is “mean” and not as “kind” as her public image would have the world believe.
“I stand by Ellen,” the Australian-born de Rossi posted to Instagram.
The actress, who originally hails from Geelong, added the hashtags “I stand with Ellen DeGeneres”, “I Stand by Ellen” and “I Stand by Ellen DeGeneres”.
“To all our fans … we see you. Thank you for your support,” de Rossi wrote.
She also added the hashtag #stopbotattacks, which appeared to imply that the allegations came from “bots” and were unfounded.
De Rossi, who has given up acting to focus on her art company General Public, used the same hashtags that fans had been circulating on social media in recent weeks.
But de Rossi’s own “I Stand By Ellen” blue post was soon its very own campaign, as fans shared it widely across social media in support of the Australian’s beleaguered wife.
This is the first time de Rossi has spoken publicly since DeGeneres’s show became the subject of an internal investigation at Warner Bros in the US amid claims of a “toxic” work culture, racism and staff “bullying”.
Since May, Hollywood insiders have been speaking out publicly about DeGeneres’s alleged rude behaviour to her staff and others.
DeGeneres, whose talk show has run for 17 seasons, has strongly denied the allegations and has placed any blame squarely on the senior executive producers who work under her.
Interestingly, most of DeGeneres’s high-profile Hollywood friends have remained silent on the rumours. Kris Jenner, who holidayed with the couple in 2016, liked de Rossi’s post, but other wellknown pals of DeGeneres such as Pink, Adele and Reese Witherspoon have yet to comment publicly.
Nor have any of the stars in DeGeneres’s famous 2014 “broke the internet” selfie when, as Oscars host, she shared a picture featuring Alisters Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
But she has had some support. Scooter Braun, who manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, told DeGeneres to “keep your head high”.
“People love to take shots. They love to see people fall. How quickly so many forget. How easy it is to stay quiet when it doesn’t effect (sic) them,” Braun wrote in an Instagram post.
“(DeGeneres) is a kind, thoughtful and courageous human being who stands for what is right.”