Ellen DeGeneres is best known for making people laugh.
But many people on the Internet don’t find a recent Tweet shared by the comedian to be particularly funny.
In honor of Katy Perry turning 33 years old on Wednesday, DeGeneres posted a picture on social media of herself, wife Portia de Rossi and the birthday gal herself.
The picture featured Ellen ogling Katy’s chest and included the following caption:
Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It’s time to bring out the big balloons!
Not exactly Ellen’s best material, but critics haven’t turned on DeGeneres because she missed the mark with this Tweet when it comes to humor.
They’ve turned on her because they think this message and this image are offensive, inappropriate and they turn DeGeneres into a pretty huge hypocrite.
In what sense?
Following the recent Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, DeGeneres has been an outspoken critic of the troubled movie producer and a strong supporter of women who have been victimized in any way by gross men around the world.
Many Internet users were quick to note that this Tweet wouldn’t be acceptable if a man posted it.
Some have used the hashtag “#doublestandard” in response to Ellen’s birthday wish, while others went as far as to compare her to Weinstein and refer to her a “pig.”
Take Piers Morgan, for example:
“If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of ‘SEXIST PIG!"”
Added Michael Rapaport, referencing the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback for some reason:
“Imagine if Cam Newton or any other Man sent out this tweet & photo. If a DUDE said this the World would stop.”
DeGeneres is not a man, of course.
She is a lesbian, however, meaning she’s attracted to Perry’s gender and is therefore sort of akin to a man in this sexual setting.
“‘Ellen Weinstein?’ Ellen DeGeneres SLAMMED for ‘tasteless’ tribute to Katy Perry,” read another Tweet on this topic, while another user called DeGeneres out for not backing up her words with her actions:
“For Ellen’s next trick, she’ll explain to us all how objectifying women is a bad thing.”
Shortly after the Weinstein news broke, DeGeneres dedicated her opening monologue to denouncing the growing environment of sexual harassment in Hollywood with an impassioned speech.
“This is not a male thing or a female thing, it is not a Hollywood or political thing, this is a human thing and it happens in the workplace, it happens in families, it happens all over the world and we are all the same,” she said this month, adding:
“We all want the same thing, we want respect, love and kindness. And if I could have those three things and an iPhone X, I’d be happy.”
Ellen has not yet responded to those offended by her Perry Tweet.
Do you think they have a point?
Or did Ellen really mean no harm here and folks should just chill out?
