Howard Stern's advice to Ellen DeGeneres: 'Just be a pr**k'

Howard Stern has weighed in on Ellen DeGeneres' seeming fall from grace, telling the talk show host to change her public persona. Photos / Getty Images

Howard Stern has weighed in on Ellen DeGeneres' fall from grace, encouraging the talk show host to rebrand her public image.

"I'd go on the air and be a son of a b**ch," he said on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show.

"People would come on and [I would] go, 'F**k you.' Just be a pr**k."

He continued, "So you think I'm a pr**k? I'm going to show you exactly ... I'm known on the air as a pr**k, but off the air, I'm known as a great guy, you know, for the most part."

Stern and DeGeneres have been friends for years, and Stern explained that before DeGeneres attempts a rebrand she should try and "work things out" with her staff first.

He also admitted that the " brouhaha" surrounding Ellen's TV show encouraged him to re-evaluate his own show.

Last week a producer who worked on Ellen's talk show claimed the host is a "kiss a***" who only likes famous people.

"She was not friendly with people, that I noticed," Hedda Muskat said in an interview with KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O.

"The only people that she was friendly with were the A-list movie stars.

Muskat's comments come after a number of A-list stars have spoken out in defence of the comedian amid a sea of allegations about her "mean" demeanour and a toxic work environment on her talk show.

Just wanna say that I have both worked behind the scenes of tv shows and been the celebrity guest on them and the two experiences are very different. Having a good time being a guest does not necessarily have anything to do with the experiences of the employees.

— Rachel Bloom (@Racheldoesstuff) August 4, 2020

Katy Perry tweeted: "I know I can't speak for anyone else's experience besides my own but I want to acknowledge that I have only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen and on the @theellenshow.

Perry continued: "I think we all have witnessed the light and continual fight for equality that she has brought to the world through her platform for decades. Sending you love and a hug, friend @TheEllenShow."

Kevin Hart also defended Ellen, writing on social media: "I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly say that she's one of the dopest people on the f***ing planet. She has treated my family and my team with love and respect from day one."

I haven’t spoken with @TheEllenShow and can only speak from my own experience. She & her team have only treated me & my team w/ respect & kindness. She never pandered to celebrity which I always saw as a refreshing honesty. When things aren’t right she handles it and fixes.

— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) August 5, 2020

Shortly after Ellen's famous friends began speaking out publicly, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom took to Twitter to point out that their perspectives may not actually be relevant to the issue at hand.

"Just wanna say that I have both worked behind the scenes of TV shows and been the celebrity guest on them and the two experiences are very different," Bloom wrote. "Having a good time being a guest does not necessarily have anything to do with the experiences of the employees."

This isn't the first time Ellen has been accused of treating celebrities more favourably than those on her staff.

In a March Twitter thread in which people were encouraged to share the "most insane stories you've heard about Ellen being mean", comedian Josh Levesque wrote:

"Another friend of mine was a PA on her show and when Russell Brand came into the employee break area to chat with the crew and hang out. Ellen came in and got mad at him – saying he didn't have to interact with these people, that's why guests have their own area backstage."