Why Ellen DeGeneres is catching major heat for Amanda Bynes post

Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek’s network of contributors

Ellen DeGeneres’ followers are begging her to take down the recent post that featured a throwback interview with Amanda Bynes.

On Saturday, June 21, DeGeneres’ official social media accounts — which frequently share old videos from the show — uploaded a clip from 2004 in which DeGeneres spoke to a newly 18-year-old Bynes about her decision to live at home with her parents.

“Amanda Bynes talks turning 18 and living with her parents during her 2004 interview on the show. #Season2Rewatch,” the Instagram caption read.

The short clip focused on exactly that, with the She’s the Man star gushing about how her “parents are so understanding and wonderful” and how she had no plans to move out at the time. DeGeneres, for her part, responded: “You have the freedom to live on your own if you want. And you choose to live at home with your parents and that you give them credit for being really understanding and cool parents.”

“I think it’s amazing,” DeGeneres added. “Good for you.”

Bynes — who has dealt with mental health issues and legal problems in the public eye since 2012 — was later in a nine-year conservatorship under her parents’ rule until 2022.

In light of this knowledge, fans found DeGeneres’ throwback post — and her discussion about happily living with her parents — to be wildly tone-deaf.

“Why would you share this clip? clearly she has suffered a lot in life since then & still. Sharing this is pretty distasteful on your part,” one person commented on DeGeneres’ Instagram upload.

“Why would you post this? This is painful to watch,” another added.

“So this is a joke or some weird mis post? Bc what in the actual eff,” wrote a third user.

Others repeatedly told her to delete the clip.

“You should take this down,” shared a commenter, while another wrote: “Yeahhh probably one that could have stayed archived…”.

Others honed in on the questionable subject matter.

“Umm this is really f***ed up to share,” a follower criticized.

“So weird to repost this? And out of everything a topic of her parents?” penned another viewer.

“You messy!” someone else commented. “You know damn well her and her parents have a beef.”

DeGeneres’ public image took a hit in 2020 when an investigation was launched into the workplace environment on set of her eponymous talk show after current and former staffers complained of bullying, racism and sexual harassment. (Several executive producers were fired in the aftermath, per BuzzFeed News.)

“I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected,” DeGeneres said in an on-air apology at the time. “I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power and I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”

DeGeneres ended her talk show in 2022 after 19 seasons.