Ellen DeGeneres has been falling into a lot of hot water lately. While she was once loved for her healthy character and openness about her sexual orientation, many celebrities have come out and said that her persona masks a habit of bullying and masks behind the scenes.
On top of other celebrities who have spoken out about their bad behavior, people who worked behind the scenes have also talked about abuse and verbal abuse. Many people were amazed by these revelations. Other people, however, realized that there had been incidents in the past that might have revealed the true Ellen. Did Ellen mean this at all?
Who is Sofia Vergara?
Sofia Vergara has worked in television for almost as long as DeGeneres. She got her start at the Univisión in the 1990s before taking on English-language roles in the 2000s.
In 2009, she was cast as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the ABC sitcom Modern Family, and from there her fame exploded. By 2012, she was the highest paid actress on television and received massive pay for her acting work.
However, Ferara’s story is bigger than her acting. Vergara comes from Colombia, a country that has suffered from years of political strife and violence. While Vergara’s family was relatively well off, this did not mean that they never had trouble.
In 1998, Vergara’s older brother, Raphael, was assassinated in an attempted kidnapping. This murder was never solved.
However, Sofia Vergara took this as a sign to stay and do her job in the United States, where she would be safer. While Vergara does not often talk to her brother, she has occasionally talked about her grief and pain, as in a recent episode of America’s Got Talent.
Less than five years later, Vergara was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Fortunately, she was able to remove her thyroid and did not spread the cancer as it caused other problems. But there are complications that come with having a thyroid removed, and Vergara had to stay on top of medication and frequent visits to doctors to ensure her continued health.
Sofia Vergara on ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’
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Vergara has been a regular guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Her first appearance was in 2010. Vergara’s mother tongue is Spanish, and although her command of English is strong, her voice proves her Colombian heritage. That’s why DeGeneres – the two are both spokespersons for Cover Girl and have appeared together in commercials – had Vergara perform a public prank involving her heavy accent.
This is not the only time DeGeneres has used Vergara’s accent for comedy. In another episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, DeGeneres jokes “learned” Vergara English words, even though Vergara is fluent in English. In other clips, DeGeneres would make fun of how Vergara pronounces certain words, mimicking the utterances to her face.
While these incidents have spread over the years, they do show a pattern. And after the revelations about DeGeneres were less friendly and healthy than they presented themselves, Vergara fans looked back and were empowered to speak out about how DeGeneres made jokes about Vergara’s accent.
Problematic implications
Vergara has a sense of humor about her accent. However, when they are together, the clips with DeGeneres and Vergara seem to make DeGeneres laugh to make Vergara laugh about her accent, not with her.
Fans pointed out, “If someone said things in real settings, no one would laugh.” They also said that the way DeGeneres joked about Vergara’s accent was more “lame” anyway.
In these clips, which many people saw, a white American was making jokes at the expense of the accent of a Latina woman. It’s also a privileged and tone-deaf joke – and not to be underestimated, the antithesis of DeGeneres’ “kind” brand – seen Vergara is no one to thank fluent English for being fluent in her native language.
Whether DeGeneres holds racist views is debatable. She has in the past criticized President Donald Trump for anti-immigration policies, but she has yet to say anything about how she treated Vergara, an immigrant woman.
Even though DeGeneres has said that she is against people “who are being treated unfairly, not equated, or – worse – ignored”, these episodes in the past combined with current research have shown many fans to be hypocritical. If there is anything left over, it is pointed out how celebrities (and people) can be champions of some social causes, yet have problematic views.
