You can always count on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to provide laughs and positive vibes for audiences worldwide. On the cheerful talk show, Ellen has interviewed a variety of guests ranging from A-list celebrities to children with brilliant minds and hilarious personas.
For nearly two decades and 16 total seasons, she has interviewed everyone from US presidents to pop diva icons. Regardless of who Ellen has as a guest on her show, her interviews are always guaranteed to put a smile on your face. What were some of Ellen’s best guest star appearances of all time? Keep reading to find out!
10. OBAMA MEETS “PRESIDENTIAL EXPERT”
One of the sweetest interviews of all occurred when the former President showed up to greet Macey Hensley, aka the “presidential expert”. This young girl could tell you everything about the Presidents throughout history, from Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with ice cream to George Washington’s favorite breakfast food. (It’s pancakes.)
When Macey and President Obama finally met, the look on her face was absolutely priceless. She then got to interview Obama and asked him some brilliant questions such as “Do your dogs have secret service agents too?” and “Are there really aliens?”. The interview ended with Obama and Macey embracing each other in a hug, as Obama insisted she will one day become president (which she probably will, if we’re lucky enough.)
9. SARAH PAULSON GETTING SCARED BY ELLEN
Ellen is a total prankster as we know, and she has no problem wetting the pants of celebrity guests who scream with fright once she plays jumpscare tricks on them. Paulson may take the crown as the Queen of Terror on American Horror Story, but as it turns out, she is a certified scaredy-cat - and it’s kind of freaking adorable.
Ellen must agree with us because she consistently scares our favorite horror star pretty much every single time she comes as a guest on the show. One time Paulson tried to scare Ellen, but the talk show host didn’t so much as flinch. Meanwhile, Ellen scared SP so much that she ended up crawling under the table in order to hide. Is it possible for a human to get any cuter? We don’t think so.
8. MUGGLES SHOULDN’T TRY TO PRANK HARRY POTTER
One of the funniest moments on Ellen came from when the talk show host had Daniel Radcliffe as a guest star, and her attempted prank him completely flopped. Ellen had hidden cameras installed in the Harry Potter star’s trailer, and she had a bunch of people on set shake the trailer on the outside in order to fake an earthquake. Instead of Radcliffe getting scared, he got excited. He was all, “Cool, an earthquake!”.
Ellen then learned her lesson, that you should never try to outsmart The Chosen One. It just won’t work. One of the best parts of any Ellen interview is the Youtube comments for said video. In the comment section, people had hilarious responses ranging from “the only thing that can scare Harry Potter is an angry Hermione” to “Instead of getting scared he got excited instead? A TRUE GRYFFINDOR!". We think so too. Better luck next time, Ellen!
7. BRITNEY AND ELLEN CHIT-CHAT ON THE FLOOR
For Britney Spears’ debut interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2004, the two let go of the formality required for a professional interview and instead had their interview while lying down on the carpet. Sure, they did some workouts too, but in the end, Ellen wanted the pop sensation to have a few minutes to relax since Spears’ life at that point in time was too chaotic to possibly fathom.
At just 22-years-old, Britney was more famous than Santa Claus and Marilyn Monroe combined. Basically, the girl couldn’t catch a break, constantly being bombarded by paparazzi and tabloids headlines. She was chained to the fame and Ellen could sense this, trying her best to allow Britney some much-needed downtime to just relax. It was incredibly sweet because you could tell how much Ellen wanted Britney to feel at ease despite all of the pressure surrounding her. Good for you Ellen, you go Ellen!
6. ELLEN LAUGHS WITH THE “APPARENTLY” KID
Whenever people see the words “the apparently kid” they are most likely going to break out into a huge smile. Apparently, it has been a few years since the height of his viral video, but apparently, Noah Ritter still holds up as one of the most charming kids on the planet.
Seriously, we’d be apparently lucky to have half of Ritter’s social skills. Can he please teach us how to be as cool as him? Apparently, we can only dream… When he arrived as a guest star on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen was apparently delighted to converse with such a big personality. She even brought out an awesome dinosaur which apparently looked pretty darn realistic, yet Noah Ritter apparently was quick to guess it was just a man in a costume. Ellen apparently couldn’t stop laughing. Apparently.
5. KATE MCKINNON INTERVIEWS ELLEN AS ELLEN
Kate McKinnon is the ultimate expert at doing celebrity impressions. We’ve seen it before many times on SNL, her most famous impression being Hillary Clinton. Yet one of her most underrated celebrity impersonations is revealed on the talk show as our favorite SNL star comes out dressed from head to toe as Ellen DeGeneres.
She perfectly captures the essence of Ellen’s loosey-goosey nature and the resemblance to Ellen’s mannerisms is practically uncanny. In the end, the two go out into the audience and start dancing, then embrace each other in a hug where you can hardly tell who is who!
4. MICHELLE OBAMA GOES SHOPPING WITH ELLEN
Michelle Obama has safely come to the conclusion that Ellen DeGeneres is a terrible person to shop with. Her theory came about after the two ladies took a trip to CVS, which according to Ellen stands for “Cotton Vaseline and Stuff”. Michelle, who Ellen calls “Shelly” throughout the video, is quick to point out that her statement is false. That is not, in fact, what CVS stands for.
The two hilariously shop through CVS as Ellen trolls the former First Lady to no end. The dynamic between Ellen and Michelle is kind of the best thing that we never knew we so desperately needed. If there could be a movie starring these two in a buddy-cop comedy, it would hands-down win all the Oscar awards imaginable. Just call it Shelly and Elly Take Cotton Vaseline and Stuff.
3. KANYE GETS TOTALLY CANDID
When Kanye West appeared as a guest star on Ellen, viewers were both shocked and impressed to see the iconic rapper drop the cheery guest star act in order to get super candid with everyone. When tuning into The Ellen DeGeneres Show most people expect to come for laughs and celebrity inside scoop. Yet Kanye West seemingly wasn’t in the mood to fake a smile while discussing topics about his life that he believed would do nothing to affect the outcome of the world as we know it. Instead of discussing Kim Kardashian and the cute little things his kids do, West took the opportunity to turn to the audience and discuss what he thought to be more important matters.
Mainly, he went on to talk about the lack of justice in today’s society. He used the worldwide platform to discuss real-world issues, adding with all seriousness, “Sorry daytime television. I’m sorry for the realness.” Regardless of what you think about West as a person, it’s great to see someone use the platform to discuss serious issues.
2. NICKI MINAJ MEETS HER BIGGEST FANS
Nicki Minaj is another celebrity who utilizes Ellen’s platform in order to help make a positive change in today’s society. When the iconic rapper meets two of her biggest fans who can rap all of “Super Bass” with ease, Nicki stresses the importance of putting your schoolwork first and all of your other priorities second.
Nicki lets her young fans in on the importance of valuing your education first and foremost. The queen of rap has frequently used her famous platform to shine a light on the importance of finishing school. It is one of the many reasons to love Nicki Minaj.
1. KRISTEN BELL’S SLOTH MELTDOWN
And last but not least, we had to include the famous “Kristen Bell Sloth Meltdown” to this list. It was one of the sweetest and most genuine moments in the history of celebrity interviews and it made us adore Kristen Bell more than ever before.
Just when we thought it would be impossible to love The Good Place star any more than we already did, she was revealed to have an utter meltdown when her husband Dax Shepard surprised her with a sloth for her birthday. It’s safe to say it was one of the most iconic talk show moments of all time. What’s your favorite Ellen guest star moment?
