‘I wouldn’t know’: Ellen DeGeneres breaks silence as ex Anne Heche slips into a coma
Ellen DeGeneres distanced herself from ex-partner Anne Heche as police obtained a warrant for the actor, who slipped into a coma after a fiery car crash.
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Ellen DeGeneres broke her silence on the fiery car crash that left Anne Heche in a coma with a tepid response for the ex-partner she famously dated in the 1990s.
“We are not in touch with each other, so I would not know,” she told The Daily Mail when asked about her condition.
Pressed on whether she wants to send any well wishes, DeGeneres coldly replied, “sure”, before adding generally: “I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”
It comes as authorities confirmed a warrant was issued to obtain blood from the badly-burned actor, who has slipped into a coma and remains in a critical condition. DeGeneres, 64, hurried away from reporters in California amid comments it was quite the dangerous accident.
“Sure was”, she replied casually.
A spokesperson of Heche issued a statement this week that she remained in an “extreme critical condition”.
“She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” the statement said.
“She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”
It’s a worsening condition for the 53-eyar-old Emmy winner, who was previously said to be in a stable condition over the weekend following the crash.
Heche was driving a blue Mini Cooper in Los Angeles’s Mar Vista neighbourhood when the car crashed through a house and erupted in flames.
That same day, the Los Angeles Police Department obtained a warrant to test Heche’s blood, a police spokesperson confirmed to People.
Authorities are yet to confirm the results of the blood test as investigations continue into the cause of the crash.
‘TONE DEAF BALDWIN SLAMMED’
Alec Baldwin is being ripped for paying tribute to “brave” and “wonderful” Anne Heche after her “tragic” car crash — even though police say she was racing from a hit and run at terrifyingly high speeds when she crashed and destroyed a house in a giant inferno.
Baldwin, 64, was one of a number of celebs who praised the still hospitalised actress, even as police confirmed to the New York Post that they have taken a blood sample from Heche to investigate whether she was drunk or on drugs at the time of the near-deadly crash.
“Everybody join me please in sending their support and love to the wonderful Anne Heche,” Baldwin told his 2.4 million followers in an Instagram video on Saturday afternoon.
Alec Baldwin ripped for asking followers to support 'brave' Anne Heche after fiery house crash https://t.co/yLdshWhqaIpic.twitter.com/kkskUZOSvx
— New York Post (@nypost) August 7, 2022
“I love you Anne — I love you. And I think you’re such a talented person and I hope everything is OK,” he said of the actress and podcaster, who was filmed racing through quiet LA streets before crashing on Friday, local time.
“I’m sorry that you had this tragic thing happen to you and I’m sending you all my love, OK?” he said of his troubled co-star from a 1996 movie.
Baldwin’s video was posted even as disturbing new details emerged about the crash, which left Heche badly burned after her Mini Cooper flew into a house, causing an inferno that destroyed a woman’s home and her possessions, and took nearly 60 firefighters more than an hour to extinguish.
Neighbors helping a neighbor. I contributed to a GoFundMe effort to help out Lynne Mishele whose house was trashed by Anne Heche. She lost everything. Kick in a few bucks for a good cause. (Included my photo of the crime scene here). Thanks! https://t.co/yHTIdGEHzVpic.twitter.com/9qApQiAPD0
— David Hume Kennerly (@kennerly) August 8, 2022
“Anne is an old pal of mine...” Baldwin continued.
“There’s not a lot of women I worked with who were brave in the way that Anne is brave … She was very original and very brave,” he said.
“Anne was fantastic. She was so funny. I mean, she’s an amazingly talented woman,” he gushed, without referencing her reckless driving.
His tribute soon sparked outrage and accusations that he was tone deaf.
“She put lives in danger,” one commentator reminded Baldwin, while another said, “Thank god there wasn’t any children playing in that garden”.
“Did you see how reckless she was driving and how she hit a building before she crashed?” one person asked Baldwin.
“She is lucky she didn’t kill anyone.”
DOORBELL CAMERA CAPTURES ACTRESS DRIVING AT 145KMPH
The 53-year-old, who’s said to now be in a “stable” condition in the hospital, was filmed speeding down a quiet suburban street in Mar Vista, Los Angeles.
Moments later, the Hollywood star crashed into a two-storey home nearby.
It is reported she was driving at speeds of up to 145km/h before the crash.
EXCLUSIVE: Video shows the vehicle owned by actress Anne Heche speeding down a Mar Vista street moments before crashing into a home and sparking a fire. The story on @CBSLA 5pm. pic.twitter.com/1H93z5aVx7
— Rachel Kim (@CBSLARachel) August 5, 2022
Heche was pulled from the wreck by neighbour David Manpearl – with his doorbell cam capturing the video of the Mini hurtling down South Walgrove Ave.
“I heard a car go speeding by and looked out my window where I saw the car going about 90 miles an hour,” he told the Daily Mail.
“Within seconds I heard a loud crash at which point I ran outside in my flip flops because I knew someone was hurt and boy was I right.”
Other video showed the actress struggling to get off the ambulance stretcher after being rescued by Emergency Services crew.
O.M.G....200 ft high flames!!😮🔥
— m. barbay (@barbaylive) August 6, 2022
Hope she'll be ok...
(maybe Mini pedal became stuck in acceleration? If you shut vehicle off, you lose steering control (while unable to stop vehicle?) 🤔
=> https://t.co/eC8I8fgUFHhttps://t.co/HHP5axyvvI
Heche remains in intensive care after her car crashed and became engulfed in flames.
Heche is now in a stable condition, according to a statement from her representatives.
Here’s the now mangled vehicle owned by actress Anne Heche being towed away after speeding and crashing into a Mar Vista home and sparking a fire. @CBSLApic.twitter.com/rRSqnM1YDt
— Rachel Kim (@CBSLARachel) August 6, 2022
“Anne is currently in stable condition,” reads the statement.
“Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers. We also ask to respect her privacy during this difficult time. Thank you.”
Her ex, actor James Tupper, with whom she shares a child, posted a tribute on Instagram.
A source told CNN the star was “lucky to be alive”.
“She has severe burns and has a long recovery ahead. Her team and her family are still trying to process what led up to the crash.”
REVEALING PODCAST
Alcohol was allegedly a contributing factor to the accident — Heche had earlier been pictured with what appeared to be a bottle of vodka in the cupholder of her blue Mini Cooper.
In a podcast broadcast just hours before the crash, Heche joked about drinking a bottle of vodka sent to her by a distillery with wine chasers as she detailed how she’d been having a “very bad day”.
“Today’s been a very unique day,” Heche told her co-host Heather Duffy on the Better Together podcast.
‘I don’t know what happened, sometimes days just suck and I don’t know if you ever have them [but] some days, those no good, very bad days, and some days just end up like this.”
It is unclear if the podcast was recorded on Friday, or if that is just when it was broadcast.
According to several media reports, Heche was driving her blue Mini Cooper through suburban LA around midday on Friday, local time, when she crashed into the garage of an apartment block.
Witness reports said bystanders tried to help the Vanished actress out of her car after the crash but she allegedly drove off before crashing into another home where her vehicle became “engulfed” in flames.
“Fifty-nine firefighters took 65 minutes to access, confine and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure,” an LAFD report stated.
The LAFD also confirmed to the PA news agency her car had driven into the home but the occupant escaped without injury.
The building was left uninhabitable, added LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey.
Her ex-boyfriend Thomas Jame reportedly told the Mail Online she was “stable” and “expected to pull through”.
STARS’ TRIBUTES CONDEMNED
Alex Baldwin has copped flak for sharing a tribute to Heche on social media.
The 64-year-old actor posted a video to Instagram, where he described the “amazingly talented woman” as an “old pal” and wished her well.
“There’s not a lot of women I’ve worked with that are brave in way that Anne is brave,” Baldwin said in the video.
“I love you Anne … I hope everything is OK, I hope you come through this. My heart goes out to you.”
Baldwin encouraged others to send their “support and love to the wonderful Anne Heche”.
His heartfelt message was not welcomed by everyone, with one Instagram user asking: “What about the people she almost killed? Is she more important?”
Another replied: “Did you see how reckless she was driving and how she hit a building before she crashed? … She is lucky she didn’t kill anyone”.
Heche was supported by her 13 Minutes co-star Peter Pacinelle, who shared a photo of the two of them on his Instagram Story with the caption: “Praying for you and your beautiful family”.
Actress Rosanna Arquette also offered a message of support, tweeting: “Anne Heche is in the hospital severely burned from a car accident. This is really tragic. Pray for her”.
Meanwhile, others slammed the actress of “drinking and driving”.
Heche had earlier been pictured with what appeared to be a bottle of vodka in the cup holder of her blue Mini Clubman.
Dennis Depew, an actor who appeared in Live Free or Die Hard posted: “She was drinking and driving”.
“Anne Heche needs to go to rehab ASAP. She’ll probably get arrested and charged one they release her from ER”.
His opinion was shared by political consultant Nathan Schneider, who tweeted: “She could have killed somebody. Heche needs some serious mental health counselling before she hurts someone”.
SEVERELY BURNED
Extraordinary footage broadcast on US television by Fox, showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the home that Heche allegedly crashed into with her Mini Clubman.
TMZ reported that the crash had left Heche ‘severely burned’ and intubated in hospital, but that she was expected to survive the horror accident.
“Her condition prevents doctors from performing any tests to determine if she was driving under the influence of alcohol,” TMZ reported.
Heche’s film credits include Donnie Brasco, Superman: Doomsday, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Wag The Dog.
In a 2021 interview with Page Six, Heche said she felt “black-listed” after going public with her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the late 90s.
Heche has spoken openly about her previous battle with substance abuse.
“I drank. I smoked. I did drugs. I had sex with people. I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life,” she told ABC News in 2001, saying her poor choices were a result of her painful childhood that stemmed from being sexually abused by her father, Donald Heche.
“I’m not crazy,” she also said at the time.
“But it’s a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me.”
Heche suffered a mental episode in 2000 when she walked through the desert outside Fresno, California in just a bra and shorts before knocking on the door of a local and asking for a shower.
The homeowner, who recognised Heche from her on-screen roles, called the police and Heche was admitted to a mental facility.
She said her bad childhood had led her to create alter egos and after the desert incident addressed her mental health issues.
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