Leah Remini Playfully Slapped Ellen DeGeneres For Only “Acting” Interested In Her Stories

Ellen DeGeneres is in the final season of her talk show, and the jig is up; we all know she’s the Queen of Mean. Or maybe she’s the Victim of Orchestrated Misogyny, as she claims. Either way, last season’s ratings were way down, and if Ellen wants to end her show on a high note, she’d better be on her very best behavior. But the other day Leah Remini was on the show and sensed that Ellen was feigning interest in her anecdote about loving pranks. So Leah leaned over and smacked Ellen’s arm three times (although she tried for four). Headlines suggest the slaps were “playful,” but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Ellen’s production assistants approached Leah in the green room and presented her with a neat stack of hundred-dollar bills. “I and the other PAs have been saving for months. We think you’re the one who can deliver the hit. Help us, Leah Remini. You’re our only hope!”

Here’s what happened. 51-year-old Leah was telling 63-year-old Ellen that she loves scaring the crap out of her kids, so she bought a scary clown mask, waited for her daughter to turn the lights off in her bedroom, and scratched at her door. Then Leah immediately jumped to another story about attempting to prank her dance instructors. That’s when Leah glanced around each of her shoulders. I think she was checking to see if Ellen was about to prank her, and she explained:

Leah: And, um, you’re acting really interested, so, like, I don’t know if you’re doing that thing where you’re into my story… so that-

Ellen (actually a little thrown by this change in tone): I’m always interested. What do you mean “act”-

Leah: YOU’RE NOT, ELLEN! Stop.

Ellen: What do you mean I’m “acting interested”?

Leah then got out of her chair, leaned over, and smacked Ellen.

Ellen (laughing): Ow! It’s my last season, don’t hurt me!

Leah: I love you, I missed you, and I’m so happy to be here on your last season! But anyway, thank you for having me.

Ellen: You’re welcome.

Leah: Back to me. Sooo…

And then Leah launched back into her (pretty blegh, to be honest) tale about failing to prank her dance instructors. Here’s the clip. The assault takes place around the 40 second mark:

I think Leah meant the smacks playfully, but they came off kinda aggressive, so she overdid it with the “I love you, Ellen!” afterward. Kinda like when Soleil Moon Frye was on Friends and kept punching Joey:

Whatever her intentions, Leah Remini better watch her back. Now she’s got the Scientologists and Ellen DeGeneres on her bad side. Time to borrow her bestie JLo’s bodyguard!

Pic: YouTube