The most shocking and awkward segments in The Ellen Show’s 19-year history

From being called a “b**ch” by a megastar to almost making Taylor Swift cry, here are eight times Ellen’s celeb interviews went horribly awry.

After 19 seasons, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she is calling it quits.

DeGeneres, 63, claims that the decision is unrelated to the recent toxic workplace allegations and drop in sponsors and ratings.

While there have been many allegations of DeGeneres’ surprising off-air demeanour, there have also been many shocking on-air moments.

From being caught in a lie by an unwavering Dakota Johnson to being called “a b**ch” by Cher, more than 3000 episodes of the show have provided many shocking and awkward moments on television. The most recent example came just this week, when Ellen's friend and frequent guest, Leah Remini, called her out for "pretending to be interested" in what she was saying during their interview.

1. Dakota Johnson’s now-iconic interview

One of the most cringe-worthy moments on the show was between Dakota Johnson and DeGeneres in 2019.

The host began the interview by wishing Johnson a happy belated birthday and teasing that Johnson had not invited her to the birthday celebration. Johnson awkwardly replied that she originally didn’t know that DeGeneres liked her, but quickly corrected the host that she had been invited but didn’t attend the party.

DeGeneres kept pushing that she had not been invited until Johnson challenged her to “ask everybody” forcing the crew to jump in confirming that DeGeneres had in fact been invited to the party but was out of town.

DeGeneres finally gives in joking “Oh yeah I had that thing. (The party) was probably in Malibu, that’s too far for me to go to.”

2. Audience member sent to ‘Ellen Jail’

DeGeneres is known for interacting with her audience, but sometimes she has taken it too far.

For one of her live tapings, DeGeneres set up a camera to secretly record her guests as they were offered free merchandise before the show. The swag was clearly labelled “only one per person,” but some guests decided to get a little greedy.

One crowd member named Nancy was singled out by DeGeneres when the host showed the footage of her sneaking several items from the table. When the guest is confronted on air, she says that the extra gifts were for her sister who was unable to come to the show.

DeGeneres fires back that a lot of sisters were unable to attend and proceeded to put Nancy in “Ellen Jail”, seating her in a metal chair in a separate corner of the stage.

3. Taylor Swift begs Ellen to stop quizzing her about men

Taylor Swift’s love life has been a point of contention since she first broke onto the music scene when she was a teen. Swift, 31, has made many appearances on Ellen over the years and each time, the host grills her about her dating life.

RELATED: How Ellen made her staggering fortune

Taylor Swift on Ellen in 2013. Picture: YouTube

In 2012, Swift appeared with Zac Efron and performed a parody of Pumped Up Kicks with the pair singing, “Every time I’m on this show it’s really weird, really weird all because of Ellen.”

The next time Swift came onto the show, DeGeneres continued to question the musician on her past boyfriends clearly upsetting her. Swift eventually breaks down, almost in tears, begging DeGeneres to stop.

“This makes me feel so bad about myself, every time I come up here you put a different dude up there on the screen and it really just makes me question what I stand for as a human being,” the singer said.

4. Ellen jokingly calls out Celine Dion’s parenting

In 2007, Celine Dion appeared on the show and became fired up when the host began to criticise her young son’s hair while Dion, 53, began to speak about her projects.

RELATED: What led to Ellen’s downfall

Celine Dion was noticeably taken aback by the comment. Picture: YouTube

“It seems like you’re busy with something, ‘cause you’re forgetting to cut your son’s hair,” DeGeneres joked.

“Look at him. He is beautiful, but look at his hair,” she added. “When are you going to cut that hair?”

These comments sent Dion into a defensive rant about motherhood and being in the limelight saying, “Whatever I will do, I won’t please everyone.”

5. Nicole Kidman shades celebrity chef

Nicole Kidman was on the show in 2017 with Giada De Laurentiis when De Laurentiis walked the host and actress through several of her famous recipes.

However, Kidman, 53, was very obviously not impressed with her comments or cooking. Throughout the segment, Kidman continued to dramatically roll her eyes at the celebrity chef’s attempted jokes.

At the end of the bit when Kidman and DeGeneres finally got to try the food, Kidman commented that “it’s a little tough”, causing DeGeneres to burst out laughing.

De Laurentiis was put on the defensive saying, “Nicole, it’s been sitting out for like five hours!”

6. Kanye West’s infamous 8-minute rant

Kanye West is known for his wild tweets and random rants — one of which stalled The Ellen Show for eight minutes in 2016.

DeGeneres asked the rapper if he regrets any of his past tweets, spurring West, 43, to go off on a non-stop rant about his upbringing, his dreams for the country and why he acts the way he does while fidgeting in his car.

The host eventually gave up on attempting to cut in and gain control of the interview until West ended his outburst by saying, “I’m sorry day time television. I’m sorry for the realness.”

7. Ellen red faced after Katy Perry marriage comment

After 18 years, DeGeneres has had hundreds of guests on her show, and it’s clear that she isn’t able to keep up with them all.

When Katy Perry, 36, came on the show, DeGeneres attempted to play a game called “Will You Perry Me?” in 2017.

Perry quickly quipped, “Do I have to get married … again?” DeGeneres embarrassingly responded, “You were not married.”

Perry motioned several times during the interview to “cut” the awkward moment out. Picture: YouTube

Perry then had to remind the host that not only did she have an unhappy marriage to Russell Brand, but DeGeneres gave her wedding presents on the show.

“Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool,” Perry awkwardly replied trying to get past the moment.

DeGeneres insisted, “That’ll be cut out” but Perry replied, “Yeah right.”

8. Cher calls Ellen a b**tch

In some segments, DeGeneres takes her celebrity guest out in public working to embarrass them in different social settings. The host took Cher, 74, to a hair salon in 2018 to style some guests’ hair and mess around.

Cher was visibly frustrated as Ellen mocked one of her greatest hits. Picture: YouTube

While the two playfully went back and forth fighting with the blow dryers and teasing each other, DeGeneres eventually took it too far.

Referring to the women getting their hair done, DeGeneres claims, “They know me better than they know you.”

Taking in the rude comment, Cher replies, “You’re such a b**ch.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission.