Margaret Cho Calls Ellen DeGeneres a “Mean Girl,” Recalls Bowie Snub
The comedian revisits her decades-long history with Ellen and a moment with David Bowie that never made it to air.
Los Angeles, June 22 EST: Margaret Cho has never been one to hold back — and on a recent episode of The Kelly Mantle Show, she let loose.
The comedian didn’t just describe Ellen DeGeneres as cold or distant. She used the phrase that cuts deepest in showbiz social circles: “mean girl.”
According to Cho, the tension goes back decades. She says she used to open for Ellen in comedy clubs during the 1980s — “before the sitcom, before the talk show, before the sneakers,” as Cho put it. But years later, after both had risen in their careers, Ellen acted like they’d never met.
“It was so creepy and weird,” Cho recalled. “She was acting like we just met — like I was a stranger. It was just so cold.”
What makes the anecdote land harder is Cho’s read on why. “I think it’s because her girlfriends and wives always liked me,” she said, hinting at professional jealousy baked into their personal interactions.
The Bowie Snub That Stung
One moment Cho hasn’t forgotten — and still clearly resents — involves David Bowie.
Back in 2004, Cho says Bowie appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show shortly after she had worn a bold “Chinese emperor” outfit onstage. A producer allegedly told Cho afterward that Bowie had praised her look off-camera, raving that “God said your name. He loves you.”
But that part of the segment never made it to air. Cho says the edit felt like an intentional snub — and one that robbed her of a moment of artistic affirmation from someone she considered a personal hero.
“It’s not just that Bowie complimented me,” Cho said. “It’s that they went out of their way to make sure no one ever saw it.”
A Pattern — and a Timing
Cho’s account comes two years after DeGeneres ended her daytime talk show in the wake of a very public reckoning over the show’s allegedly toxic workplace culture. The 2020 BuzzFeed News exposé that sparked internal investigations included reports of intimidation, racism, and retaliation — all under the glossy brand of “be kind.”
And while Ellen addressed the scandal with a heavily produced apology and a final season that leaned into self-deprecation, stories like Cho’s suggest the chill may have extended far beyond the studio floor.
Cho made it clear this wasn’t a one-time misunderstanding. “She was not nice to me for most of my career,” Cho said. “That’s just how it was.”
Not the First, Probably Not the Last
Cho isn’t alone in her criticism. Ali Fedotowsky, former Bachelorette star, previously recalled feeling belittled on Ellen’s couch. “She was laughing at me, not with me,” Fedotowsky said in 2021.
These aren’t allegations of misconduct. They’re social snapshots — awkward moments, cold shoulders, conversations remembered not for what was said but for what wasn’t.
And in the case of Ellen, they point to a bigger question: Was the on-screen kindness ever real? Or was it just another performance, carefully curated, cut, and produced?
No Response — Yet
So far, DeGeneres has not responded to Cho’s remarks. That’s been her pattern since leaving the spotlight — silence, distance, and a noticeable absence from celebrity inner circles she once ruled.
For Cho, the goal wasn’t necessarily retribution. But it’s clear she’s done staying quiet about how she was treated.
And in this post-show era, where Ellen’s myth has already cracked, a few more stories like this might be all it takes to finish the deconstruction.
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A bi-coastal pop culture critic and former indie screenwriter, Gia covers Hollywood, streaming wars, and subculture shifts with razor wit and Gen Z intuition. If it’s going viral, she already knew about it.
