Here is something you don’t read everyday:
Ellen DeGeneres has been forced to defend herself against charges of racism.
What has cast one of Hollywood’s most popular and, let’s face it, most harmless celebrities in such a negative light?
A photo shared on the official Ellen Facebook page that made a joke about Usain Bolt.
On Monday, several hours after Bolt captured his record third consecutive Gold Medal in the 100-meter dash, DeGeneres shared the following image:
“This is how I’m running errands from now on. #Rio2016,” the comedian wrote as a caption.
It’s not her best joke of all-time, but whatever, right? Especially considering it’s sort of Ellen’s thing to insert herself into famous photos, right?
Wrong, argued a handful of critics online.
Wrote one Twitter user in response to the picture:
“@TheEllenShow so the first thing that pops in your head when looking at this pic is “oh let me jump onto his back like he’s a common mule”?
Another user made a similar comment:
“@TheEllenShow @usainbolt So riding on his back like a mule, a horse as some form of property is fun to you… Ok.”
And yet another was a bit more understanding, yet still very critical:
“@TheEllenShow despite its intentions this pic has ugly connotations comin from a rich white lady.”
Wanting to nip this controversy in the bud, Ellen replied to the criticism with a Tweet that reads:
“I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.”
Here is a look at the message she sent on Tuesday?
And we mean, look, okay, yes, we get it.
If you really wish to scrutinize the above photo, you can find racist connotations to it. We guess.
But sometimes people need to first just chill out. Not everything is a controversy waiting for your opinion on Twitter.
Second, they need to consider the source.
Ellen DeGeneres made for a terrible American Idol judge because she’s too nice. She gives a platform to every conceivable celebrity on her talk show.
She’s known for her warmth and kindness and generally positive attitude and she was just doing here what she does so often:
Make a joke out of something popular in culture at the moment.
Ask yourself this: would Ellen have made this same quip if a white person had won the race? Of course she would have.
Simply put, you have to really, really, REALLY want to see something racist in this picture in order to slam Ellen for it.
And that says more about you than it says about Ellen.