Freeze Frame: The single sentence from Dakota Johnson that had 'catastrophic' impact on Ellen DeGeneres' career
Five years ago, seven simple yet exquisitely delivered words had a catastrophic domino effect on Ellen DeGeneres' career.
The year was 2019 and the veteran talk show host had invited 50 Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show to do press for her new film The Peanut Butter Falcon.
It was never unusual for DeGeneres to playfully rib her guests, poke fun at them or speak about their personal lives. But this time, it blew up in her face.
Watch the video above.
READ MORE: Olivia Munn and John Mulaney welcome second child via surrogate
Ellen DeGeneres interviewed Dakota Johnson in November 2019. YouTube
READ MORE: 'Thought we were dead': Gilmore Girls actor details injuries after horror accident
The Ellen DeGeneres Show set was dressed in festive decorations, Johnson was wearing a now-iconic tweed two-piece that also screamed Christmas. Little did Johnson know, this outfit would be immortalised forever in memes, videos and internet jokes.
It all began when DeGeneres asked Johnson how her recent 30th birthday was.
"How was the party? I wasn't invited," the talk show host claimed. Johnson was lightning-fast to rebuff this bold assumption.
"Actually, no, that's not the truth, Ellen," Johnson retorted, likely having no clue this sentence would live on in infamy.
"You were invited. Last time I was on the show, last year, you gave me a bunch of s--t about not inviting you. But I didn't even know you wanted to be invited."
Johnson went on to reveal she had, indeed, invited DeGeneres to her party this time and DeGeneres didn't show up.
READ MORE: Keith Urban refuses to discuss Nicole Kidman in interview
'That's not the truth, Ellen': Johnson's single sentence lived on in infamy. YouTube
READ MORE: Queen Mary's historic first in King Frederik's absence
And the actress even had her receipts at the ready. "Ask everybody, ask Jonathan, your producer," she added.
The rest of the interview continued without incident, save for an awkward moment where Johnson said Tig Notaro was her favourite comedian, which prompted a fake offended reaction from DeGeneres.
When the episode went to air, Johnson's casual yet clear verbal evisceration of DeGeneres sent the internet into a frenzy.
The original clip posted to YouTube from The Ellen DeGeneres Show has a whopping 9.9 million views and countless comments applauding Johnson's softly-spoken savagery.
Fans and culture critics have also pinpointed this five-minute clip as the beginning of DeGeneres' slow downfall in the public eye.
The following year, in 2020, a series of articles were published which alleged DeGeneres fostered a "toxic" work environment on her talk show.
READ MORE: Chef reveals top mistake people make when baking
Johnson at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Getty Images for Gucci
READ MORE: The best food-storage containers for organised eaters
A viral Twitter thread asking people for their negative stories about DeGeneres also went gangbusters on social media.
An investigation into the show was later launched, which resulted in the removal of several top producers.
In one of her episodes, DeGeneres said "we have made the necessary changes" in her monologue and promised "a new chapter" of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. However, this was also the beginning of the end for the show itself.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show aired its final episode in May 2022 – with some tracing the show's demise to the comedian's awkward interview with Johnson less than three years' earlier.
Despite being praised for her epic shutdown for the past four years, Johnson has been careful not to speak about or even acknowledge the interview with DeGeneres.
The closest she has gotten to referencing the moment was an interview with Entertainment Tonight, where she claimed it was "bizarre" how it turned into a meme.
READ MORE: Princess Anne stands in for King Charles in the Netherlands
DeGeneres ended her show in 2022 and now lives a lowkey life with wife Portia de Rossi (pictured left). GC Images
"I'm not aware of them. I don't know, these things happen, and then a year later somebody is asking me about it," Johnson told the outlet.
"Actually, the other day, Spike Jonze sent me a picture of a woman who works with him wearing a T-shirt of something I said with a drawing of me on it. I was like, 'What?' Because I'm not really on social media.
"I don't see these things, so, to me, it's just f---ing bizarre. Sorry, it's bizarre."
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
DeGeneres, for her part, seems to have recovered from the brutal series of blows to her career.
After ending the talk show, she moved on to live a more quiet life with wife Portia de Rossi in Montecito, California. The couple notably renewed their vows inside their mansion in early 2023, with celebrity guests including Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in attendance.
DeGeneres is expected to address her fall from grace in her second Netflix special – Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval – on September 24.
Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.
Most viewed in Celebrity
Brandi Glanville reveals disturbing diagnosis: ‘Finally ready to tell you’
Major clue that Lady Gaga has secretly married Michael Polansky after mysterious vanishing
Grammy-winning singer collapses on stage mid-show in Nashville
Dolly Parton’s sister shares heartbreaking new detail about the singer’s secret cancer battle
