Family GuycreatorSeth MacFarlaneheld nothing back when roasting celebrities during a New York City charity gala. On Tuesday, May 14, at the Robin Hood event, MacFarlane — known for his "equal opportunity offender" approach to humor — called outEllen DeGeneres' fall from gracefollowing the 2020 scandal around her eponymous talk show. In the same line, he also commented on DeGeneres and wifePortia de Rossi'smove to the U.K.in late 2024, followingPresident Donald Trump's election win. PerPage Six, after an uncomfortable joke about attendeeKeith Urbandoing cocaine onstage — the country star, who has been candid about his past substance abuse issues, has been sober for years — MacFarlane took the jab at DeGeneres. MacFarlane quipped that the former talk show host "left [the U.S.] right after the election," DeGeneres is now "the nicest person in France." DeGeneres, who spent decades as the beloved host of her talk show — and scored millions of Disney fans as the voice of Dory fromFinding Nemo— saw her reputation quickly nosedive after a bombshellBuzzFeedreport that cited many current and former employees' statements about a "toxic" work environment onEllen. After addressing her employees amid the 2020 scandal — telling the staff that the show would be a "place of happiness" and "respect" — "obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry." "I learned that things happened here that never should have happened," DeGeneres later told her viewers on-air, noting that she "take[s] responsibility for what happens at my show." After the show ended in 2021, DeGeneres reflected on the scandal in her 2024 stand-up special,For Your Approval, on Netflix. "I've spent an entire lifetime trying to make people happy and I've cared far too much what other people think of me," she said. "So, the thought of anyone thinking that I'm mean was devastating to me, and it consumed me for a long time ... [but] after a lifetime of caring, I just can't anymore. So I don't." Family Guy, meanwhile, called out the allegations against DeGeneres' talk show in a 2022 episode spoofing the infamous ASPCA commercials starringSarah McLachlan(and her tearjerker of a ballad, "In the Arms of the Angels"). Instead of encouraging the audience to donate to the emaciated and shivering dogs in the real-life commercials,Family Guy's parody begged viewers to donate to the "terrified grips," a "Teamster sobbing in his car after work" and a "camera operator having a sandwich slapped out of his hand just for making eye contact" that appeared in their spoof. The send-up of a cutaway ended with another jab at DeGeneres, this one poking fun at her penchant for her staff and guests to try on over-the-top holiday sweaters. "Please, give today," the voiceover stated. Because no one should have to spend Thanksgiving watching a millionaire try on sweaters."
