Greyson Chance Drags His Old Mentor Ellen DeGeneres Calling Her “Manipulative,” “Self-Centered,” And “Blatantly Opportunistic”
You may remember Greyson Chance as the young kid who got big for playing Lady Gaga‘s Paparazzi on the piano at school and going viral a decade ago. Here’s a refresher:
Ellen DeGeneres signed Greyson to her record label with Interscope and wanted to turn him into the next Justin Bieber. But that didn’t happen. And in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Greyson claims that Ellen was such a monster to him that he currently suffers from PTSD. Well, since that’s the case, Greyson may want to stay away from his phone because I have a feeling that this interview may unleash Hellen The Terrible on him again.
Back in May 2010, when Greyson was 12 years old, that viral video of him got him an appearance on Ellen, and shit popped off from there, via Page Six:
“We just couldn’t believe what was happening… We were so unsure of what we were getting into, and the person that helped cure all of that skepticism and chaotic energy was Ellen.”
When the two first met, the musician claimed, DeGeneres said to him, “I’m going to protect you. I’m going to be here for you. We’re going to do this together.”
Ellen founded her record label, eleveneleven, and signed Greyson. Greyson’s EP was released in October 2010, and he began touring afterward. Greyson says Ellen “became domineering and way too controlling” as his career grew:
“My whole week, my whole month, my whole year could change [with] one text message from her. That was horrible,” he alleged, adding that he quickly learned that DeGeneres’ opinions were the only ones that mattered.
Then came the Justin Bieber DVD. Ellen got her hands on an advance copy of Never Say Never, the documentary about Justin’s career, and she told young Greyson to watch it amid his touring schedule. But Greyson never watched it, and Ellen let his mother have it!
When he didn’t make viewing the film a priority, the singer claimed, DeGeneres called his mother, Lisa, and berated her.
“What type of mother are you?” he recalled hearing the comedian allegedly ask his mom before she purportedly said to him directly, “Disappointed isn’t even remotely what I’m feeling right now.”
At that moment, the young star thought to himself, “OK, I’m a pawn in your game.”
If she wanted him to be the next Justin Bieber, why didn’t Ellen hook Greyson up with a creepy, sexually devious pastor to mentor him? And like many who have worked for Ellen, Greyson says that she was mean:
“She would come in and look at a rack, yell at stylists, berate people in front of me and say, “This is what you’re wearing on the show,”” he claimed. “She was just degrading to people.”
Greyson adds that when his album and ticket sales dropped in 2012, Ellen “completely removed” herself and “completely abandoned” him and when he tried calling her, he got nothing. Interscope dropped him, but he would still make periodic appearances on Ellen despite having no team. He says he knew it would have a positive impact on his career to get the exposure (completely accurate) but still, he says the set was “a place of active trauma for me.”
When the cameras were off, Greyson claims that Ellen never asked him how he was doing, but when the cameras turned on, she became nice. Shortly after Greyson came out, Ellen told him on camera that she was proud of him. Greyson called that moment “cheap.”
“She had nothing to do with that. … [When I came out,] I hadn’t spoken to her in years… That’s so messed up, that you’re now showing the world as if we’re so tight, we’re so good. And behind the scenes, you are this insanely manipulative person.”
He added, “When I look at the interviews and I look at my eyes, I can see so much anxiety. I can just see so much PTSD because I’m there holding on for dear life going, “I need this TV gig.” I was 100 percent faking it, and [I felt like] she [was] 100 percent faking it with me, too.”
Greyson says he was asked back a few times, including during the show’s final two weeks, but he never went back:
“The first part of my career, I owe a lot of thanks to her and to that team. But the reason why I’m here today talking about an album, I owe fucking nothing to her because I was the one that had to pull myself up. She was nowhere to be found.”
He says he’s “never met someone more manipulative, more self-centered and more blatantly opportunistic than her.”
A source close to Ellen denied these recollections and says that she actually went “above and beyond” for him but noted that “sometimes careers don’t take off.” The insider also says that Greyson never complained about any appearance during or after, and finds the timing of the RS interview “convenient” since his album Palladium came out yesterday as well.
Here’s Greyson’s Instagram post about the story:
Ellen’s show is long done and we’re still hearing stories about what a terror she was. That’s a gift! After the apocalypse happens and only the roaches are left, they’ll probably sit around and be like, “Did I ever tell you about the time Ellen DeGeneres cackled while stomping on my great great great great great great great grandma?”
Pic: Instagram