Ellen DeGeneres Is Facing Backlash For Comparing Quarantine To Jail On Her Show

Ellen made a joke that isn’t sitting right with many people… again. In Monday’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” DeGeneres compared being forced to quarantine to like being in a prison.

“One thing that I've learned from being in quarantine it’s that this is like being in jail,” she said, according to BuzzFeed. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay.”

The episode was filmed from DeGeneres’s home, joining a trend that many other talk show comedians have adopted while social distancing practices remain in effect.

READ: Ryan Reynolds Doesn't Mind Being Quarantined In A House With Five Women

The joke did not sit well with many people who were quick to point out DeGeneres lives in an L.A. mansion while people in jail actually suffer without having access to all the necessities. The 62-year-old owns a number of houses across the country and sold a beachfront home in July 2019 for $24 million dollars, CNBC reported.

The “jail” joke isn’t the first time DeGeneres has been under fire for her comments or called out for hypocrisy. As previously reported, the talk show host's former staffer Kevin Porter tweeted in March that she was “notoriously one of the meanest people alive.”

“Right now, we all need a little kindness,” he wrote. “You know, like Ellen DeGeneres always talks about! She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive. Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean and I’ll match everyone with $2 to @LAFoodBank.”

The tweet prompted an influx of responses from others sharing stories about the alleged “mean” interactions they have had with the talk show host.

Although none of the stories could be verified, this viral thread and her recent comparison to being stuck in jail have caused many to blast her on social media.