Ellen DeGeneres Slammed For ‘Sexist’ And ‘Inappropriate’ Birthday Message To Katy Perry

Ellen DeGeneres is feeling some serious heat on social media after she sent a controversial birthday message to friend Katy Perry which some – including outspoken TV personality Piers Morgan – are claiming was “sexist” and “inappropriate” towards the new American Idol judge.

The drama first started after Ellen wished Katy a happy birthday across her various social media pages on October 25 by posting a photo of herself staring at her cleavage with her mouth wide open as they posed together – alongside DeGeneres’s wife Portia de Rossi – at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

DeGeneres then captioned the snap by borrowing some pretty suggestive lyrics from Perry’s 2013 aptly titled hit “Birthday,” as she wrote alongside the photo, “Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It’s time to bring out the big balloons!”

But while Ellen’s birthday message seemed to be all in good fun, a number of social media users slammed the comedian for the joke and claimed that it was “sexist” towards the pop superstar. They also noted that the birthday wish would have would have caused a total firestorm if DeGeneres were a man and had been staring at her chest.

One of the most high-profile personalities to call out the daytime talk show host for her comments was Piers Morgan, who slammed the talk show host on Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Barg-7Qgde_/?taken-by=theellenshow

The former America’s Got Talent judge claimed that Ellen would be one of the first to call out a male who made the same joke about Katy’s chest, particularly amid the recent allegations of sexual assault surrounding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

“If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of ‘SEXIST PIG!'” he quipped on Twitter, which caused a number of his followers to speak out against DeGeneres for the joke with some pretty fiery responses.

“The hypocrisy of the left,” one fan responded, while another hit back at DeGeneres amid the Weinstein scandal, “Completely insensitive and inappropriate given everything that’s been happening. Shame on you Ellen.”

“I love Ellen but this is really inappropriate,” @lilly_zwiers then said while quoting the comedian’s initial tweet, while another added, “Ellen, kind of creeping us out with your sexual assault. Very inappropriate. Treat [Katy] like a human being, not a cheap piece of a**.”

But while Ellen received a wave of criticism across social media, others were quick to defend the star for her joke.

“Uh… do you guys know this is one of Katy’s song lyrics?” Twitter user @musingsofmegan responded in defense of DeGeneres, pointing out that she only borrowed lyrics from Perry’s own music for her caption.

“Context is important,” @Payton_26 then added while defending the popular star. “1) She’s a comedian 2) I assume they are close friends. Is @katyperry offended by this? No? Don’t worry about it.”

“Is this really what the world is coming too?” another added of the response to the talk show host’s post. “It’s Ellen ffs, and song lyrics from Katy’s song. It’s not inappropriate, not one bit.”

Neither Katy nor Ellen have yet publicly commented on the controversy.

What do you think of Ellen DeGeneres’s birthday message to Katy Perry? Was it inappropriate towards the singer or all in good fun?

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney]