Greyson Chance Defends His Claims About ‘Manipulative’ Ellen Degeneres: ‘I Stand Behind All of It’

Singer-songwriter and musician Greyson Chance made several public allegations against former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. The now 25-year-old music artist was just 12 years old when he first appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2010 after she watched his viral YouTube cover of Lady Gaga’s hit single “Paparazzi.” Although Chance reappeared on her show three times, the “Broken Hearts” singer claimed he felt “completely abandoned” by DeGeneres.

“I’ve never met someone more manipulative, more self-centered and more blatantly opportunistic than her,” Chance told Rolling Stone in an interview published on Thursday, September 22. “The first part of my career, I owe a lot of thanks to her and to that team. But the reason why I’m here today talking about an album, I owe f—king nothing to her. Because I was the one that had to pull myself up. She was nowhere to be found.”

Keep reading to find out more about Greyson and what he said about Ellen. 

Who Is Greyson Chance?

After his cover of “Paparazzi” went viral in 2010, the “Timekeeper” artist was invited to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May of that year, where he performed his stunning cover of the song. 

Chance’s talent garnered further attention from multiple celebrities who shared videos of his talk show appearance via social media. 

The Wichita Falls, Texas, native later released his debut single “Waiting Outside the Lines” in October 2010 followed by his debut album Hold On ’til the Night in August 2011. 

What Is Greyson Chance’s Career Now?

Although Chance attended the University of Tulsa in 2017, he chose to drop out to refocus on his music career. Since then, the former Oklahoma resident has released multiple singles and dropped his second studio album, Portraits, in March 2019. 

What Did Greyson Chance Say About Ellen DeGeneres?

In his September 22 interview with Rolling Stone, the “Hellboy” artist alleged that the relationship he and his mother, Lisa Chance, had with DeGeneres quickly changed throughout his music career. 

“I remember her pulling my mom aside and saying, ‘You’re never going to have to work again a day in your life,’” Chance claimed referring to what the comedian allegedly said to his mom, before claiming what she told him: “‘I’m going to protect you. I’m going to be here for you. We’re going to do this together.'”

Chance then described the evolution in the Primetime Emmy Award winner’s behavior after his career started to gain more traction. 

“My whole week, my whole month, my whole year could change [with] one text message from her. That was horrible,” he told the publication. 

Chance provided an example of the treatment he allegedly received, claiming that DeGeneres didn’t like a specific performance he filmed for a different network and coerced him and his team to redo it. 

“If she had an opinion of any sort, the whole thing changed,” he added. 

On another alleged occasion, Chance claimed that DeGeneres wanted him to watch Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never documentary while Chance was on tour opening for Miranda Cosgrove. However, the piano player recalled feeling exhausted from the difficult touring schedule and didn’t prioritize watching the film. He then alleged that DeGeneres called his mother to address the matter. 

“I’ll never forget this,” Chance said. “I just remember hearing on the other side of the phone, just yelling [and] beratement: ‘What type of mother are you? Do you realize that I went out of my way to get this for you, and he can’t sit down and watch it?’” 

After allegedly calling his mother, Chance claimed DeGeneres asked to speak to him and said, “Disappointed isn’t even remotely what I’m feeling right now.’” 

“It was clear that, ‘OK, I’m a pawn in your game,’” he continued. “So, I watched the [Never Say Never] movie.” 

Lisa also alleged that DeGeneres “would go through his clothes” and act “a little controlling” about what Chance would wear, to which he agreed. 

“She would come in and look at a rack, yell at stylists, berate people in front of me and say, ‘This is what you’re wearing on the show,’” the “Temptation” singer claimed. “She was just degrading to people.”

Chance then alleged that DeGeneres “completely abandoned” him after his music career began to struggle by 2012. 

“I couldn’t get ahold of her. Couldn’t talk to her,” he claimed, before recalling his experiences when he returned to her show in the future. “Whenever I would come on the show, it was such a fake smile. She wouldn’t even ask, ‘How are you doing? How are you holding up?’ It was just like, ‘Here’s what we’re going to talk about. We’ll see you on there.’”

In his multiple interviews with the former American Idol judge, Chance appeared happy. However, he explained to the outlet that he could “see so much anxiety” in his eyes. 

“I can just see so much PTSD because I’m there holding on for dear life going, ‘I need this TV gig,’“ he continued. “I was 100 percent faking it, and [I felt like] she’s 100 percent faking it with me, too.”

A rep for DeGeneres did not immediately respond to In Touch’s request for comment.

Did Ellen DeGeneres React to Greyson’s Claims?

Although DeGeneres did not publicly issue a statement in response to Chance’s claims, a source told Us Weekly that the former talk show host had a different “experience” working with him. 

“Ellen and the team went above and beyond and sometimes careers just don’t take off,” the insider said on Thursday, September 22, adding that he never made any “complaints” while he worked with her. “He has taken this time, as he is launching a [new] album, to go after Ellen with opportunistic claims.”

Greyson Chance Defends His Statement

Hours after his Rolling Stone interview was published, Chance took to TikTok to defend his original statement about DeGeneres. 

“I stand behind all of it,” he began. “You know, I’ve been wanting to tell this story for multiple years and was repeatedly told not to. But the truth is what you saw on TV and what was sort of pitched out, you know, to the mainstream just wasn’t what was happening behind the scenes. And I think now that I’m 25 and I’m older, I can recognize that what happened to me as a kid was not cool. It was not OK. And I’ve had to wrestle with so much of that PTSD and so much of that trauma as I’ve been growing up as a musician, and as I’ve been fighting in the industry to continue to make music and still do this.” 

Chance then addressed the public’s reaction to his accusations against her. 

“And I’m sure people will have a lot to say about the article, and how I may appear ungrateful for her efforts in the beginning,” he continued. “And the truth is that I am grateful for her giving me a start, but I’m more grateful to myself for the moments when I got dropped and everything went awry when I was a kid. I’m thankful to 15-year-old me that picked up the pieces and kept on going and kept on fighting.”