ELLEN DEGENERES - the US TV star at the centre of a workplace bullying row - bluntly snubbed Meghan Markle with a "million dollars" joke, unearthed accounts show.
PUBLISHED: 00:28, Mon, Sep 7, 2020UPDATED: 07:30, Mon, Sep 7, 2020
Ellen DeGeneres, 62, has come under fire in recent months over allegations by former staff that her eponymously named show was a “toxic” place to work. The US TV host apologised that the environment wasn’t “as happy” as she expected last month and an internal investigation has been launched. A number of celebrities have supported the Disney ‘Finding Dory’ actress, many of whom appeared on her show. One notable acquaintance was Meghan Markle who she bonded with after the star forced her to rescue a dog.
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DeGeneres and the royal struck up a friendship in 2012 after an encounter in a pet shelter, which ended with Meghan taking home Bogart, a Labrador-shepherd mix.
The comedian and her wife Portia de Rossi, 47, spotted the ‘Suits’ actress and insisted: “You’re taking the dog home!”
Meghan explained: “She walks outside to get into her car but instead of getting in, she turns around and comes and taps on the window glass.
“She yells ‘Take the dog!’ And so I brought him home. Because Ellen told me to.”
Years later, the star also vocalised her opinion on the future royal family member when her engagement to Prince Harry was announced in November 2017.
In a segment on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, she joked that her own family was “about to get a little bigger”.
Ellen DeGeneres news: US TV star's eponymously named show came under fire over bullying allegations (Image: THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW)
She said: “Kate Middleton is my 15th cousin, so that makes Prince Harry’s fiancée my other cousin.”
DeGeneres revealed to her studio audience that Meghan used to appear on the US version of the TV show ‘Deal or No Deal’ – which previously aired in the UK on Channel 4.
She explained that the actress was the “holder for Case 24” – in reference to the suitcase filled with money when she appeared on the gameshow – and then made a brutal joke.
DeGeneres said: “Which means if Harry had picked the other model, he could’ve gotten a million dollars!”
The star also commented on the excitement of Meghan, a US citizen, marrying into British royalty when she said: “We finally got somebody on the inside, you guys!”
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DeGeneres recalled how she and the Queen’s future in-law first met at the rescue shelter.
She said: “She adopted a dog, ‘cause I told her to…’ I don’t even remember the story, but she does, and obviously she does whatever I tell her to do!”
In a continuation of that joke, DeGenerees stated her demands for the Royal Wedding in 2018.
She said: “So, Meghan, if you’re watching, I have something else to tell you. Invite me to that wedding.
“And instead of plus-one, I want plus-400. I want all these people to come, too”
Despite her cheeky plea, the star did not receive an invite and made a number of jokes about how she deserved a spot on the guestlist in the lead-up to their big day.