Ellen DeGeneres under fire yet again as damning video shows the beleaguered host mocking Sofia Vergara’s English
Sofia Vergara has been a regular guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. (YouTube)
A supercut of Ellen DeGeneres mocking Sofia Vergara’s Colombia accent has gone viral, prompting yet more criticism of the embattled talk show host.
Vergara has been a regular guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show over the years, and a 30-second edit showcases how many of her appearances have had one thing in common: DeGeneres making fun of her Colombian accent.
The thread appears to stem back to 2010, when Vergara stopped by Ellen to discuss her sitcom, Modern Family, only for the comedian to grill her on her speech.
“I shouldn’t judge because I think it would be hard to learn new language entirely… but can you get rid of the accent?” DeGeneres asked.
Vergara laughed while explaining that although she had at that point lived in America for 16 years, she thought her accent was “getting worse”, setting up a long-running joke between the two.
In various segments over the years, DeGeneres has offered to teach the Colombian-American actor “an English word of the day”, told her that her “accent was getting better”, and mocked the way she pronounces the word “gift”.
As the video and others like it went viral, opinions were split between those who found DeGeneres’ comments offensive, and those who believed Vergara to be in on the joke.
i fcking hate ellen pic.twitter.com/GJB8WWf8Ur
— ً (@jimincrave) August 11, 2020
Why does she think ridiculing someone’s accent is funny? She should go learn a different language, then she will know how hard it is
— Petrichor⁷ (@lillyhshz) August 12, 2020
I have a thick accent and I don’t see this the way most people are looking at it. They are good friends, they have inside jokes and Sofia made her accent a staple of her image anyways, she exploits it and exaggerates it because it makes her $. Also, comedy
— Anelys ? (@get_down_withit) August 13, 2020
1. It’s not that deep.
2. she’s a comedian
3. The world is extremely sensitive. EVERYTHING offends you guys. My comment is offending you right now as your typing your response. ?♂️
And finally, it’s funny how NOW all of sudden everyone is noticing these “bad”things after 17yrs.— 1Drizzy_Tayy7 (@Drizzy_Tayy) August 13, 2020
I think you dont realize that the role she plays is a CHARACTER, she’s given a directive.The other roles make fun of her accent and its emphasized in the show that, that is not okay. For ellen to make fun of it is disgusting. But if your first language is english you wont get it
— ATA ? (@atatoteles) August 13, 2020
Ellen DeGeneres Show under investigation.
Ellen DeGeneres’ reputation has taken a battering in recent weeks following a slate of allegations against her and her eponymous show.
Back in March, a former employee described the host as “one of the meanest people alive” on Twitter, his post prompting a slate of unflattering – albeit unverified – stories about her “rude” behaviour.
Much more serious are the allegations levelled against Ellen the show – that it is a workplace “dominated by fear”, plagued with bullying and in some cases, racism.
The show’s parent company Warner Bros has launched an investigation into the claims following a BuzzFeed expose, with DeGeneres reportedly offering an apology to staff.
PinkNews has contacted representatives of Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Vergara for comment.
