Is Ellen DeGeneres Racist? 3 Time She Was Accused Of Racism, Usain Bolt And More

Ellen DeGeneres is known for being a hilarious and creative comedienne. When people think of the bright eyed, funny woman, their thoughts typically go to Oscars host and “Finding Dory.”

However, she has recently come under fire for one of her latest social media posts. People have been associating her name with racism after she posted a racially controversial meme Monday involving Olympic track and field legend Usain Bolt.

Monday was not the first time DeGeneres has been at the center of accusations of racism. Here are three times she's has been called a racist.

1. Tweeting out a picture of herself riding on Usain Bolt’s back.

Twitter users lashed out at DeGeneres after she posted an edited photo of herself riding on the Jamaican sprinter's back. The talk show host captioned the photo, “This is how I’m running errands from now on.” Some thought the image of a white woman riding on the back of a black man harkened back to the days of slavery when black people were treated on a par with animals.

Bolt retweeted the photo and it has received more than 35,000 retweets and 86,000 likes. Despite his retweet, DeGeneres received a slew of backlash over the post. She later tweeted, “I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.”

2. Mocking Nicki Minaj’s childhood in a skit.

Following the announcement that Nicki Minaj would have a major network sitcom based on her childhood, DeGeneres presented a mock clip of the show. The video featured a young African-American girl playing Minaj who left her shoes in the living room of her family home.

When Minaj is called downstairs and asked about tossing her belongings aside, it is revealed that the little girl has a big butt. Her mother soon comes from behind the couch and knocks a few things off the end table, showing that she too has a big rear end. Nicki’s father soon walks in to reveal that he too has a large derrière. Ellen DeGeneres then tells her audience, “They have big butts, that’s the joke,” according to Refinery29.

Unfortunately not everyone found it funny and felt the comedienne was steroptyping black people for certain anatomical features.

3. She ignored the only African-American girl featured in an interview

Back in 2015, Gap kids released an ad campaign that featured a pre-teen dance group called Le Petit Cirque. The girls in the group were featured in a photo ad for the clothing line. However, the only African-American girl in the picture was used as an “armrest” for one of the white dancers, according to Salon.com. Following the shoot, DeGeneres interviewed the girls but didn’t seem to take much interest in talking to the only minority of the group.

During the talk show host’s chat with the girls, each one talked about the importance of teamwork but no one interacted with the African-American girl throughout the interview.

DeGeneres has always maintained that she is not a racist.