Fans Spotted John Krasinski Trying To Break The Tension Between Ellen DeGeneres And An Employee

Summary

• Ellen DeGeneres, known for her daytime talk show, had a start as a stand-up comic with HBO specials and a show on Showtime.
• Her staff once pulled an April Fools' prank on DeGeneres by changing the show set, surprising even the audience.
• While Ellen's dancing became iconic, she still gets pranked by her staff and guests trying to scare her during the show.

Ellen DeGeneres is widely known as being the host of her Emmy-winning daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 19 seasons. She also starred in the sitcom Ellen, which ran for five seasons. The sitcom made history when DeGeneres and her character came out at the same time in 1997.

However, before all of those accomplishments, DeGeneres was mostly known for being a stand-up comic. DeGeneres had several specials on channels like HBO and Showtime.

While her knack for comedy was well-known by the time she began her talk show, it was her dancing that became a surprising addition to DeGeneres' image. It was during one dance, however, that DeGeneres' staff succeeded in pulling an April Fools' prank on her.

What surprised DeGeneres even more, is that the audience was in on it.

Ellen Openly Shared Her Frustration When Her Producer Interrupted One Of Her Segments

In February 2020, John Krasinski appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and participated in her famous "Burning Questions" segment. The segment began with DeGeneres asking Krasinski what his most irrational fear is.

"Spiders," Krasinski answered.

DeGeneres said that hers were styrofoam and cotton balls, because of the texture. She also challenged Krasinski's answer, saying spiders weren't an irrational fear.

"I have a fear of bamboo in my fingernails," Krasinski said.

DeGeneres then asked Krasinski to "name a celebrity who hasn't returned a text you sent."

"Name one who has," Krasinski joked. He then revealed that DeGeneres usually responds to texts very quickly.

DeGeneres then asked Krasinski the worst gift he'd ever given his wife Emily Blunt.

"That depends on perspective, because I think my gifts are amazing," Krasinski said. "I've given her gifts that she loves. Weirdly [with] jewelry, I'm a big miss. A big miss on everything."

"You don't know her taste by now?" DeGeneres asked.

"I thought I did," he said. "I really did and I've tried maybe six or seven times."

"Aww that's bad," DeGeneres said.

"Well, it's expensive," Krasinski responded.

Krasinski went on to show off his Boston accent skills, tell DeGeneres about his nerves while meeting Tom Brady, and revealed he would take Chris Martin on a date to Taco Bell.

However, Krasinski had some trouble coming up with an answer when DeGeneres asked him what his biggest "dad fail" was. DeGeneres' producer, Andy Lassner, then interrupted the host during the segment.

"Alright Andy," a frustrated DeGeneres then said. "Andy's not satisfied with this game so far. He's like, 'Let's just stop then.'"

"I was going to let him up," Lassner could be heard responding as the camera cut to him.

"Alright, I'll let him up," DeGeneres responded.

Krasinski then attempted to break the tension by joking to the camera operators, "Guys, can we push in on Andy please?"

Lassner and everyone else began to laugh. DeGeneres got a few more questions in before cutting to a commercial, ending the segment.

Ellen's Staff Played An April Fools' Prank On Her By Changing The Set Before The Show Started

While most people knew of DeGeneres as a comedian and actress, she wasn't widely thought of as a dancer. That would change, however, when The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered in 2003.

DeGeneres would dance with her audience following her opening monologue. She would walk through the aisles and dance with audience members before sitting down to continue the show. This became a common occurrence on the show.

So much so, that DeGeneres' dancing eventually became a signature part of her image. In 2018, when promoting her Netflix special Relatable, she told The New York Times about the frustrating aspect of it.

"There’s been times someone wants a picture, and while I’m doing a selfie, they’re like: ‘You’re not dancing!,’” DeGeneres told the outlet. "Of course I’m not dancing. I’m walking down the street."

Still, DeGeneres would find herself dancing every day on her show. During one particular episode, DeGeneres began dancing and went for one of her signature moves. It involved walking around the coffee table placed in the center of the set.

However, this time DeGeneres noticed that she was having a more difficult time getting around the table. She soon realized this wasn't her usual table, but a wider one. Her staff had succeeded in playing an April Fools' prank on DeGeneres.

"April Fools!" the audience collectively yelled once DeGeneres had finished dancing.

DeGeneres was good-humored about it and laughed it off. She said that she noticed the table looked different and had a feeling something was a bit off.

"You know how observant I am and that is not the color of my table," DeGeneres said. "It didn't look wider until I started going over it."

She continued, "It's hard to get me. You got me, all of you."

DeGeneres later became known for scaring her guests and staff during the show. Sometimes, her staff would attempt to turn the tables and try to scare DeGeneres. However, the former talk show host would always insist she didn't scare easily.

"I don't scare easily," DeGeneres told her audience during one monologue. "My staff has tried to scare me so many times. It never works."

"It has to be a surprise," she continued. "You can't get scared if you know you're going to be scared. So the best way to scare someone is to surprise them and do it when they're least expecting it."

DeGeneres' guests would also try to get her back. When Jennifer Aniston was a guest, she attempted to scare DeGeneres backstage by popping out in the hallway. However, it didn't work, because DeGeneres said it looked like she was running from a spider. Sarah Paulson also tried to scare DeGeneres by sneaking up behind her. But DeGeneres was in on it and had someone else ready to scare Paulson immediately afterward.

Ellen Cringed When She Watched Footage From An Old Stand-Up Set On Her Show

In 1984, DeGeneres made a name for herself as a stand-up comic when she was named Showtime's Funniest Person In America. The honor caused DeGeneres' name to become more well-known on the stand-up circuit.

Years later, DeGeneres reflected on her past during a special episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The episode was celebrating DeGeneres' 25 years in comedy.

While DeGeneres has experienced unexpected pranks on her show, she would still knowingly place herself in uncomfortable situations. Case in point, when showing footage from her past on her show.

Such was the case during this particular episode as DeGeneres interviewed one of her early friends. This friend had been in attendance at many of DeGeneres' stand-up sets. The friend revealed she was 16 and DeGeneres was 18 when they first met. The two were introduced by mutual friends.

"I said hi, and she said, 'low,'" the friend remembered about their introduction. "And I was like, 'No way! You do that too?'"

The two were so close, they even lived together at one point. The friend also revealed DeGeneres was the maid of honor at her wedding. She even brought along a photo of DeGeneres at the wedding, which the host showed to the audience.

• DeGeneres seemed a bit embarrassed by the picture, but it was nothing compared to what followed.
• "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm doing this," DeGeneres said as she introduced the next clip.
• DeGeneres then played a clip from a Showtime special she filmed in New York following her Funniest Person In America win.
• "It was the 80s, that's all I'm going to say," DeGeneres told the audience.

The audience then watched footage of DeGeneres in 1984 playing the piano and singing while wearing a wig.

When the show cut back to DeGeneres, she said, "I think the biggest lesson we're going to learn today is, never give up."

This wouldn't be the first time DeGeneres considered showing audiences early footage from her career.

In addition to stand-up, DeGeneres also auditioned to play the role of the girlfriend of "Weird Al" Yankovic's character in his 1989 film UHF. During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Yankovic revealed he still has DeGeneres' audition tape.

• "Ellen came in and read once or twice, and she was really good," Yankovic said. "She was very funny, but obviously didn't quite make the cut. I still have her audition on a VHS tape somewhere."

DeGeneres even asked Yankovic to send her the tape in case she wanted to air it on her show. However, unlike the previous episode, the comedian decided to draw the line.

"In fact, Ellen DeGeneres, at one point, asked if she could see the audition, to see if she wanted to air it on her show," Yankovic said. "And I sent it to her, and she was like, 'Yeah, no. Nobody should see this.' She didn't think it was good."