ELLEN AIN’T DEAD –YET!
But mean TV queen’s Tinseltown critics aren’t dancing with joy
ELLEN DeGENERES is still alive and kicking — but some folks aren’t jumping for joy! The hashtag #RIPEllen recently trended on Twitter, referring to rumors her talk show would be axed.
But it also triggered a viral death hoax, prompting buzz the 62-year-old had taken a flyer off a roof!
One frantic fan tweeted: “Is Ellen dead or not?! Y’all confusing tf out of me #ripellen.”
Other social media users jumped on the bandwagon, gleefully mocking the “late” comic with fake obituaries.
On a pic of Ellen look-alike Justin Bieber, one meathead wrote: “#ripellen, fly high, angel.”
Another dork posted a photo of Misery actress Kathy Bates, captioning it: “The last picture of her #ripellen.”
The cruel jabs come after Ellen’s stomped-on staff savaged her as a boss from hell, as sources told GLOBE earlier this year.
The vicious barbs left the prickly TV titan — dubbed by many as the new Queen of Mean — barely able to sleep and crippled with anxiety, according to insiders.
“Ellen insists she’s done nothing to deserve this hostility and feels like she’s being bullied,” dishes an insider.
Tensions exploded after Ellen axed workers at her syndicated talk show, which has aired since 2003.
Employees who didn’t lose their jobs were warned to brace for a whopping pay cut, sources claim.
That controversy flared shortly after comedian Kevin T. Porter launched an internet campaign against Ellen — dubbing her “notoriously one of the meanest people alive.”
In one response, TV writer Ben Simeon wrote: “A new staff member was told, ‘Every day she picks someone different to really hate. It’s not your fault, just suck it up for the day and she’ll be mean to someone else the next day.’ They didn’t believe it, but it ended up being entirely true.”
Sources say Ellen has also made enemies all over Tinseltown — infuriating Cabaret icon Liza Minnelli by implying she’s a drag queen, miffing Paula Abdul by replacing her on American Idol and reportedly vowing to torpedo Caitlyn Jenner’s TV career when she refused to support samesex marriage.
“Ellen’s public image is a sweetie who’s nice to everyone,” a source tells GLOBE. “But off-camera, she’s phony to the core!”