Former ‘Bachelorette’ Star Says Ellen DeGeneres Made Her Feel ‘Stupid’

Former “Bachelorette” star Ali Fedotowsky-Manno is opening up about her less-than-positive experience being interviewed by Ellen DeGeneres.

On the Christmas Eve episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast, Fedotowsky-Manno recalled being “so excited” to appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” while she was at the peak of her reality television fame.

Unfortunately, she said, her on-air rapport with DeGeneres left a lot to be desired.

“It’s not that she was mean per se. She just made me feel stupid,” Fedotowsky-Manno explained. “I don’t think she’s a bad person. Sometimes I bet that you do a job like that all day, every single day for years, you’re just kind of over it.”

“I was trying to be, like, funny and, like, personable, and instead of, like, laughing with me, she was laughing at me. Do you know what I mean?” she told Bristowe, also a “Bachelor” franchise alum. “So I felt really stupid.”

Fedotowsky-Manno didn’t specify when that uncomfortable exchange with DeGeneres occurred. The reality TV personality made at least two appearances on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2010, the same year she was a contestant on “The Bachelor” and, later, became the star of “The Bachelorette.”

DeGeneres has maintained a low public profile after her talk show came to end in 2022 after 19 seasons. Last fall, she unveiled “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval,” a Netflix comedy special that’s been billed as her final project as an entertainer.

In the special, DeGeneres joked about having been “kicked out of show business” for being “mean,” alluding to the explosive allegations of workplace misconduct that surfaced in 2020.

Those claims were outlined in a pair of BuzzFeed News articles in which “Ellen DeGeneres Show” employees alleged instances in which they’d been subjected to behind-the-scenes intimidation, racism and sexual misconduct.

Notably, most of the claims were directed at senior members of DeGeneres’ staff and not the host herself. Though she later acknowledged that she was “in a position of privilege and power” and took responsibility, the reports left an indelible mark on her reputation.

Not surprisingly, DeGeneres’ jokes about the situation in “For Your Approval” drew a mixed response from critics. The comedian and her wife, actor Portia de Rossi, reportedly relocated to the U.K. in November in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Elsewhere in her “Off the Vine” chat, Fedotowsky-Manno had more favorable things to say about meeting Tom Hanks for the first time.

“He was so kind and so nice,” she said. “I remember being, like, ‘Will you adopt me?’ It’s like, that’s why you have longevity in this business, because you are like this.”

Listen to Ali Fedotowsky-Manno’s “Off the Vine” chat below. Her comments on Ellen DeGeneres can be found around the 1:04 mark.