Ellen DeGeneres Cops Backlash For “Slimey” $5,000 Donation To Late Colleague’s Family

Ellen DeGeneres is facing online backlash after the $700 million celebrity allegedly donated just 0.001% of her projected net worth to the family of Matthew Wright, The Ellen Show’s former executive producer, following his sudden death.

The family’s GoFundMe, titled “Support the Wright Family & Justin During an Impossible Time”, was the recipient of the $5,000 USD donation, made under Ellen’s name. According to the page, Wright died “suddenly but peacefully in his sleep” on Friday 30 October while working remotely in Los Angeles.

“The light of every room, Matt curated a beautiful life, menu by menu, sunset by sunset, person by person,” reads the GoFundMe. “He will be remembered for being everything everyone loved – sweetly stubborn and stubbornly sweet, persistently curious and curiously persistent, profoundly loving and lovingly profound. 

“His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye. We’re asking for all of his friends, who Matt loved so fully, to help the family at this time.”

Ellen’s Tearful Instagram Tribute

Alongside her alleged donation, Ellen posted a tearful, heartfelt video to her 129 million followers on Instagram paying tribute to Wright’s life and legacy. 

“He was smart. He was kind,” Ellen reminisced. “He was the part of our show that — I mean, everyone loved him. I loved him. And it’s just shocking. It’s shocking.”

Ellen’s Alleged $5,000 Donation Goes Viral On X

While Ellen’s tribute was largely met with condolences and warm wishes, an X post by user Dana Parish highlighting Ellen’s donation amount has since garnered widespread scrutiny, including one user calling the former television host “slimey” and “disingenuous”.

In one camp were the commenters who pointed out Ellen was under no obligation to donate to Wright’s GoFundMe at all, while others argued someone with Ellen’s exorbitant finances could have easily paid for the entire funeral.

“What’s the issue with the donation?! If you died today, how much would your Employer from 10 years ago donate?! How much would your current Employer donate?! She may not be a good person, but this isn’t evidence of that,” one user wrote.

“Ellen DeGeneres is worth over 500 million. I’m pretty sure she could have covered the funeral cost,” wrote another.

X Users Defend Ellen, Questioning Need For GoFundMe

Other commenters simply wondered why the family of a Hollywood executive producer of prime time TV show, one that won 63 Daytime Emmy Awards and ran for almost two decades, would need help covering funeral costs.

“First, why can’t his family afford his funeral?” an X user queried. “He had an amazing job!”

“Why didn’t he as a grown man have a life insurance policy,” wrote another. “What are they raising money for?”