Greyson Chance, who first appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show before signing to DeGeneres’ eleveneleven label has accused the daytime talk show host of abandoning him after taking him under her wing in 2010.
Chance opened up about his experience with DeGeneres in a new interview with Rolling Stone. He rose to prominence in 2010 after a video of him singing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” landed him on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
The singer alleged that DeGeneres was like a “hidden eye” in the early stages of his career and often came off as “controlling.” After DeGeneres set him up with managers, agents and publicists, Chance said she ultimately became distant once his music underperformed, and he was later dropped by the team.
“I’ve never met someone more manipulative, more self-centered and more blatantly opportunistic than her,” Chance told the outlet.
Besides controlling his schedule, Chance claimed DeGeneres also controlled what he wore. The young singer was specifically not permitted to wear leather because DeGeneres had committed to veganism.
“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 recounted. “She was just degrading to people.”
Despite being dropped by Interscope following the failed project, Chance continued to appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” until 2019.
Greyson Chance’s allegations come two years after DeGeneres was accused of leading a toxic work environment at the show in two BuzzFeed exposés. The accusations were addressed by DeGeneres in a monologue in which she apologized to the “people who were affected.”
She publicly apologized at the start of season 18, and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” ended after season 19 in May.