He said that she is a manipulative person behind the scenes, even though she presents herself as being very close with him and others in public.
Greyson Chance is remembered by audiences as the precocious middle-schooler who was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. However, in a new interview, Chance stated that he does not have the same fondness for that memory.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Chance the Rapper opened up about his complicated relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. He alleges that she was often manipulative and self-centered, particularly after he signed with her record label. He recalls her being controlling of his image and nixing performances that she didn’t approve of.
During one particular phase, she was convinced that he needed to watch the Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never for tips on how to further his career. He remembered a phone conversation where she angrily said something along the lines of, “I can’t believe you’re making me do this. I’m so disappointed.” It was then that he realized that “OK, I’m a pawn in your game.” So he watched the movie.
When Chance’s career began to decline, so did DeGeneres’ interest in him, he alleged. He claimed that when his second album Truth Be Told, Part 1 underperformed, DeGeneres stopped returning his phone calls. “I couldn’t get ahold of her. Couldn’t talk to her,” he said. “Whenever I would come on the show, it was such a fake smile.”
After retiring from music, Chance returned in 2019 with his album Portraits. In one final appearance on DeGeneres’ show, the star was shocked by how unphased the host appeared to be about their past, and how eager she was to congratulate him on publicly coming out.
“She said, ‘How have you been?’ And that just killed me inside because I was like, ’What do you mean how have I f–king been? Where have you been?’” he recalls. “I hadn’t spoken to her in years … that’s so messed up, that you’re now showing the world as if we’re so tight. We’re so good. And behind the scenes, you are this insanely manipulative person.”
Many people have spoken out about DeGeneres’ alleged poor behavior behind the scenes. In 2020, many former crew members of The Ellen DeGeneres Show came forward accusing the host of toxic behavior. This led to near-constant controversy for DeGeneres.
Chance just released his new album Palladium, which he described as being about “protecting your instinct, your heart, your soul, and making sure that that’s your priority.”
