Latest news with #TheAfterParty
Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Ellen DeGeneres' ‘cowering' staff kept warning me not to mention meat: Podcaster reignites bullying claims, calls host ‘the worst person'
Ellen DeGeneres might have ditched Trump-era America for Europe and wrapped up her notoriously famous talk show after 19 seasons, but her ex-guests still aren't done talking. Comedian and podcast host Adam Carolla just reignited the long-standing discussion around Ellen's backstage behaviour, sharing his own uneasy run-in from his time as a guest on the show. Speaking on The After Party with Emily Jashinsky, Carolla called out the eerie vibe behind the scenes and the way, he claims, her staff seemed to live in fear. Carolla shared an incident back from 2012 when he was prepping for the show backstage and described the whole vibe as 'extremely tensed'. He recalled how a segment producer repeatedly came into his dressing room, nervous and panicked, to remind him and make sure he wouldn't mention anything about meat since Ellen was a well-known vegan back then and she didn't like anyone to bring up that topic during the show. However, Carolla found it strange, even unsettling. 'The guy came in once, said, 'Just avoid talking about meat.' Then he came back again 20 minutes later just to double-check. I could tell he was scared,' Carolla said. Also read: 'To deal with Donald Trump, everyone should be a little drunk,' says Stephen Colbert before bashing the US President for taking $10 million trip to Scotland While calling out some of the 'worst' talk show hosts, Carolla even dragged David Letterman into the conversation, saying both he and Ellen were among the 'scariest' ones to work with. He compared their behind-the-scenes energy to places like Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which, he said, had a relaxed and professional vibe. 'Ellen's show, people were scared, real scared,' he said. At one point, Carolla recalled meeting someone from Ellen's team, a former writer who also worked for Rosie O'Donnell. He didn't name him, saying the guy had signed an NDA. But what stuck with Carolla was this: 'I asked him, 'How's Ellen?' And he said, 'Worst person. Not just worst boss, worst person I've ever met.'' Carolla added, 'She's not a nice person at all.' Carolla said at one point he even started to wonder about their encounter and said, 'Everyone was scared of her, which means she's mean.' He continued, 'She's not gonna be mean to me, I'm a guest on the show, right? I wouldn't know it from my exchanges, I would know it from how her staff was cowering.' Carolla isn't the only one who's called out Ellen and her behaviour. This isn't the first time her name's been dragged into toxic workplace claims. Back in 2020, a BuzzFeed News investigation featured accounts from several former employees who accused the show of racism, intimidation, and even being penalised for taking medical leave. The backlash hit hard, and by 2022, the show was done for good. Ellen, of course, blamed it on 'creative challenges.' Also read: Jimmy Kimmel fires back at Donald Trump with Epstein-laced comeback after POTUS predicts Kimmel and Fallon's shows will be canceled next More recently, Ellen addressed the controversy in her Netflix special For Your Approval. She admitted that being called 'mean' hurt deeply at first but added, 'After a lifetime of caring, I just can't anymore. So I don't.' Currently, Ellen lives in the UK with her wife Portia de Rossi. She says they originally planned to split time between the US and UK but decided to stay permanently after Donald Trump's return to the White House. 'We got here the day before the election. When we saw the results, we knew, we're staying,' she told BBC.
Indianapolis Star
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener
NEW YORK – Maddox Batson's latest trip to New York City is going much better than the last one. In April, the 15-year-old singer was forced to postpone a sold out show at Irving Plaza due to illness. But about a month later, Batson is back in the Big Apple and in better health. He caught a Yankees game in the Bronx, visited the Empire State Building, ate pizza in Manhattan and made up the concert, performing for a capacity crowd of 1,200 adoring fans. "You want to have confidence, but in the back of your mind you're like, 'What if no one shows up?'" the country singer admits before headlining USA TODAY Acoustic, a new series that provides a stage for notable and rising talent across the USA TODAY Network. "But when I get out there and I finally get on stage and I see all my fans singing the words back to me, it's just like the coolest experience ever. I mean, blows my expectations out of the water." Coming off his March debut at the Grand Ole Opry and ahead of his tour dates supporting Lainey Wilson, Batson chats with USA TODAY about his songwriting, the artists who inspire him and how it feels to go viral. In March, Batson released his debut EP, "First Dance." The artist also dropped "First Dance (The After Party)" with three additional songs. He said he whittled down the 10 songs that went public from hundreds, and his key criteria involved checking three boxes before deciding on a song. "You got relatability (lyrics), just to like my fan base but can also branch out to other people that aren't necessarily fans of me yet," he says. "Then you have catchiness; how good the song sounds. Then you have sound and production. There are plenty of songs that have one or two keys, but not a whole lot of them have all three." As far as the relatability part, Batson admits he's not living a typical teenager's life as a touring musician, but he's still finding inspiration on the road. "Every night there's things that happen to me or just things that I see that just sparks that little, 'Hey, you should write about this,'" he says. "Sometimes you really got to dig deep and sometimes it's right there in front of you. But I love writing." What else is inspiring his music? Earlier this year Batson told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that girls and his social media feed have provided that "spark" for studio sessions. Batson has 3.4 million followers on TikTok. Before becoming a sensation on the platform, his account was getting banned but was unclear as to why, he says. While there's no public knowledge of music artists being outright banned for performing on the platform, TikTok has run in to royalty disputes with publishers that have forced the removal of certain song catalog (one such dispute with Universal Music Group was resolved last year). Batson would go live on TikTok, performing with his father Dan. Then in August of 2023, he decided to post a cover of Zach Bryan's "Something in the Orange." The floodgates opened. He sat in his garage, refreshing his page and watching the views increase exponentially. "I remember it hitting 1 million views and I ran around my house," Batson recalls. "I thought I was on top of the world. I thought I was 'him.' I thought I just entered celebrity status." It currently sits at 5.4 million views. Batson is not at a loss when asked about artists who have impacted his young career. The first name he mentions his country singer Bailey Zimmerman, who Batson says has become a friend. He also lists Morgan Wallen and Justin Bieber. The comparisons to Bieber are not hard to draw: Both gained fame in their teens, both first saw success covering songs online (for Bieber, it was his YouTube channel), both gained the moniker of a "teen heartthrob" and both are from towns not exactly known as showbiz hotspots (Batson was raised in Birmingham, Alabama before his parents moved to Nashville; Bieber was raised outside Toronto in Canada). "Being so young, I feel like it's hard to navigate what you're doing (in the music business)," he responds when asked about Bieber. "Me and him started at very similar ages, so just keeping a good stable family unit or good stable team around you, I feel like is very helpful. Being 15, I think I know everything, but I really don't." Batson's self-awareness is beyond his years, but he still isn't taking himself too seriously.
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener Show Caption Hide Caption Maddox Batson explains why he covered Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' Singer-songwriter Maddox Batson tells USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his inspirations, including his parents and Justin Bieber. NEW YORK – Maddox Batson's latest trip to New York City is going much better than the last one. In April, the 15-year-old singer was forced to postpone a sold out show at Irving Plaza due to illness. But about a month later, Batson is back in the Big Apple and in better health. He caught a Yankees game in the Bronx, visited the Empire State Building, ate pizza in Manhattan and made up the concert, performing for a capacity crowd of 1,200 adoring fans. "You want to have confidence, but in the back of your mind you're like, 'What if no one shows up?'" the country singer admits before headlining USA TODAY Acoustic, a new series that provides a stage for notable and rising talent across the USA TODAY Network. "But when I get out there and I finally get on stage and I see all my fans singing the words back to me, it's just like the coolest experience ever. I mean, blows my expectations out of the water." Coming off his March debut at the Grand Ole Opry and ahead of his tour dates supporting Lainey Wilson, Batson chats with USA TODAY about his songwriting, the artists who inspire him and how it feels to go viral. Maddox Batson breaks down his songwriting process In March, Batson released his debut EP, "First Dance." The artist also dropped "First Dance (The After Party)" with three additional songs. He said he whittled down the 10 songs that went public from hundreds, and his key criteria involved checking three boxes before deciding on a song. "You got relatability (lyrics), just to like my fan base but can also branch out to other people that aren't necessarily fans of me yet," he says. "Then you have catchiness; how good the song sounds. Then you have sound and production. There are plenty of songs that have one or two keys, but not a whole lot of them have all three." As far as the relatability part, Batson admits he's not living a typical teenager's life as a touring musician, but he's still finding inspiration on the road. "Every night there's things that happen to me or just things that I see that just sparks that little, 'Hey, you should write about this,'" he says. "Sometimes you really got to dig deep and sometimes it's right there in front of you. But I love writing." What else is inspiring his music? Earlier this year Batson told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that girls and his social media feed have provided that "spark" for studio sessions. Maddox Batson recalls his first 'viral' moment Batson has 3.4 million followers on TikTok. Before becoming a sensation on the platform, his account was getting banned but was unclear as to why, he says. While there's no public knowledge of music artists being outright banned for performing on the platform, TikTok has run in to royalty disputes with publishers that have forced the removal of certain song catalog (one such dispute with Universal Music Group was resolved last year). Batson would go live on TikTok, performing with his father Dan. Then in August of 2023, he decided to post a cover of Zach Bryan's "Something in the Orange." The floodgates opened. He sat in his garage, refreshing his page and watching the views increase exponentially. "I remember it hitting 1 million views and I ran around my house," Batson recalls. "I thought I was on top of the world. I thought I was 'him.' I thought I just entered celebrity status." It currently sits at 5.4 million views. Here's how Justin Bieber inspired Maddox Batson Batson is not at a loss when asked about artists who have impacted his young career. The first name he mentions his country singer Bailey Zimmerman, who Batson says has become a friend. He also lists Morgan Wallen and Justin Bieber. The comparisons to Bieber are not hard to draw: Both gained fame in their teens, both first saw success covering songs online (for Bieber, it was his YouTube channel), both gained the moniker of a "teen heartthrob" and both are from towns not exactly known as showbiz hotspots (Batson was raised in Birmingham, Alabama before his parents moved to Nashville; Bieber was raised outside Toronto in Canada). "Being so young, I feel like it's hard to navigate what you're doing (in the music business)," he responds when asked about Bieber. "Me and him started at very similar ages, so just keeping a good stable family unit or good stable team around you, I feel like is very helpful. Being 15, I think I know everything, but I really don't." Batson's self-awareness is beyond his years, but he still isn't taking himself too seriously. "I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed," he jokes. "But I'm trying, maybe second (sharpest)."
