Twinky Greyson Chance on Ellen: "I've never met a more manipulative, opportunistic person"

With DeGeneres leading the way, Chance first released a mini EP in October 2010, five months after signing with her. During that time, Chance says, the TV host was always a phone call or dinner date away. As Chance increased his touring schedule — performing in Canada, Paris, London, and across the U.S. — DeGeneres increasingly became “really invested” in the singer, he says. But she also “became domineering and way too controlling.”

As Chance’s career intensified, so, too, did his bristling against DeGeneres’ control. Chance says she was like a “hidden eye” over his career. “My whole week, my whole month, my whole year could change [with] one text message from her,” explains Chance. “That was horrible.” There was one time, he says, DeGeneres was sent a video of a scheduled performance for a different network. She didn’t like what she saw, he says, and made him and his team redo the entire thing. “If she had an opinion of any sort, the whole thing changed,” he says.

On another occasion, Chance had performed in Cleveland, the third of five consecutive stops opening for Miranda Cosgrove on tour, and DeGeneres, back in L.A., had gotten an advance copy of Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never documentary. She wanted Chance to watch it, but Chance says he was exhausted from touring and didn’t make viewing it a top priority.

DeGeneres then called Chance’s mom. “I’ll never forget this,” Chance says. “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?’”

“People forgot how old he was. [Ellen] was not very happy that he hadn’t watched it because she thought that it was important for him to guide his career based on what Justin was doing,” says Chance’s mother, Lisa. “I don’t remember exactly what she said, but she was berating.”

Then, Greyson says, DeGeneres asked to speak to the singer. “Disappointed isn’t even remotely what I’m feeling right now,” Greyson remembers her saying. “It was clear that, ‘OK, I’m a pawn in your game.’ So I watched the movie.” (Through a rep, DeGeneres declined to comment on Rolling Stone’s detailed list of questions about Chance’s allegations.)

After Chance’s tour with Cosgrove, he immediately hit the road and co-headlined a tour with fellow teen heartthrob Cody Simpson to close 2011. The following year, he went on tour in Asia, where he gained a significant following. He also appeared on Fox’s Raising Hope, expanding his career possibilities.

Chance would finish 14- to 16-hour days balancing tours, press, and music recording, as much as an adult. He traveled with a teacher, but ”[management would sometimes] pull her aside and be like, ‘What can we do for you so he can still do this interview and these shows?’” (Chance’s mother confirmed that this “happened a little bit, but not a whole lot.”)

“You’re now showing the world as if we’re so tight. We’re so good. And behind the scenes, you are this insanely manipulative person.”

Greyson chance

Lisa says there were several times that DeGeneres “would go through his clothes” and be “a little controlling” about what Chance wore. He was specifically never allowed to wear leather, due to DeGeneres’ commitment to veganism at the time. “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,’” he remembers. “She was just degrading to people.”

Though they don’t recall witnessing any negative behavior from DeGeneres around Chance, a former production employee of The Ellen Show tells Rolling Stone that there was “absolutely no surprise” that he may have experienced that sort of controlling behavior. The former employee, who worked on the show during Chance’s rise and was fired after a year, also felt that DeGeneres was “manipulative and opportunistic,” and that working with her was a “wake-up call to not always follow the money,” they say, adding that their experience working on the show “was literally hell.”

The former employee’s comments echo those of their colleagues on the show, who alleged a toxic work environment that DeGeneres herself was apparently oblivious of, which included allegations reported on in two 2020 BuzzFeed exposés of racism, intimidation, and harassment. Three Ellen executive producers were accused of sexual misconduct and were reportedly fired in the midst of an internal investigation. In news reports at the time, some staffers said that executive producers had “insulated” DeGeneres from what was happening behind the scenes. “I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres said on Ellen after the allegations came out. “I take that very seriously, and I want to say I’m so sorry to the people who were affected.”

When Chance’s music started to underperform and ticket sales dropped in 2012, Chance says DeGeneres disappeared. The once-controlling savior who Chance says had promised him and his family the world became “completely removed.”

He released his second project on DeGeneres’ label, Truth Be Told, Part 1, in November 2012. After it tanked, he says, the TV host “completely abandoned” him. Interscope soon dropped him and key people on his team, including his agent, publicist, and management team disappeared. Chance says he tried calling DeGeneres and never heard back.

“I couldn’t get ahold of her. Couldn’t talk to her,” says Chance, who returned to the show several times after 2012. “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.’”

Chance’s mom takes a more nuanced view of DeGeneres’ role in Chance’s career. “I think that Ellen is a businesswoman. And if something isn’t trending the way she wants it to, she’s going to put an end to it because it’s business for her,” she tells Rolling Stone. “It’s not warm and fuzzy. I don’t think she invited people to be a part of her life or take someone under their wing like she did if she didn’t want to see something come of it. If it wasn’t moving fast enough for her, that’s when she started to shut down or shut us out.”

For Rhode Island music teacher Emily Luther, a former labelmate on eleveneleven discovered alongside Charlie Puth, Chance’s story is all-too-familiar. “She is someone that wants to control things and doesn’t want to take advice from people who might know a little bit more about how to do things,” Luther says. “She wants to be the one who gets the glory.”

“The way it was portrayed was, ‘She’s going to be working with you every step of the way. And it’s going to be amazing.’ And for me, growing up in a family with very little money … you put your trust in her,” she adds. “And she really let us down.”

Luther says that when Interscope offered opinions on her music project, DeGeneres “kind of dug her heels in and was like, ‘That’s not what I want to do.’ But the problem is, she didn’t really know how the business worked.”

“Knowing that you’re dealing with children and people’s dreams,” she says, “that’s serious, you know? It was upsetting.”

After the label dropped Chance, he returned to Oklahoma. He finished online school, made occasional trips to Nashville and L.A. to still take a stab at music while readjusting to a life he had forgotten back home. “When he got back, it was different,” remembers Madeline Goedecke, a childhood friend of Chance. “You could tell that it had been hard on him coming back from all of that.”

Chance tried to avoid talking about his brush with stardom. And his friends — mostly his older sibling’s friends, since he didn’t attend a normal high school — would only ask about it when he brought it up.

Chance would return to The Ellen Show to promote Somewhere as an 18-year-old in 2015. “I’m just so proud of you,” DeGeneres would tell Chance on TV. Backstage, though, he says the two didn’t speak.

“She came out during soundcheck and she looked at me, hugged me. And she said, ‘How have you been?’ And that just killed me inside because I was like, ’What do you mean how have I fucking been? Where have you been?” Chance remembers. Chance’s mom adds that DeGeneres had become “pretty distant.”

“When I look at the interviews and I look at my eyes, I can see so much anxiety. I can just see so much PTSD because I’m there holding on for dear life going, ‘I need this TV gig,’“ Chance adds. “I was 100 percent faking it, and [I felt like] she’s 100 percent faking it with me, too.”

After that day, Chance vowed to never return to the show. His career would continue to rise as he toured Portraits around the world, performing at nearly 120 concerts in a year. But he’d get through it by latching onto bad habits. After most shows, he’d down a small bottle of Tito’s vodka. “I still felt like a puppet. It was like, ‘Who am I doing this for?’” he says. Chance says therapy helped him develop better habits as he continued to release new music.

Look on the bright side, Greyson.

There's always OnlyFans!

blah blah blah blah blah. Ellen was a MEANIE!

Ellen made him a star and set him up with enough money to pursue his artistic path for years.

You should have just watched the documentary, kid.

Is Greyson gay?

Summarize please. No one has that much time to read about Ellen and some unknown person named Greyson.

blah blah blah blah blah. Ellen was a MEANIE! = summary

This line in the second paragraph actually sums it up nicely:

[quote] “‘Give me more cunt!’”

I mean.. Ellen is a lez. They are not flowery, soft -spoken, wispy people.

He's bitter and ungrateful. She made him who he is today....which is not much apparently. But he was lucky in that she brought him on her show and set him up for a career and it seems like now he's not doing well (I didn't even remember him until this thread). Oh well, she isn't his family or his manager. He needs to stfu.

"Ellen is a Mean Cunt" is a variety of Social Media trolling. Like the "Dark Triad" trolls, and the "Beware of Narcissists" trolls. They live for this shit. Even if its true, its boring as fuck and old news. If you don't want to be around a nasty cunt, remove yourself from her orbit.

Oh, the humanity!

Yes R7. He takes dick.

Exactly R12.

The Internet's digging such a deep hole with its over-the-top Ellen hatred that its inevitable rediscovery and posthumous redemption of her will be quite a revolting spectacle.

Generalize much, R11? One of my exes was exactly that; she was quiet, shy, soft-spoken, and a brilliant poet with a 140 IQ.

But whatever.

This story should not have been written, or at least not in this fashion. Ellen gave him a business opportunity. It didn't pan out. Even the guy's mother doesn't seem to think he has much of a case.

Meh.

It seems like he didn’t enjoy his path to fame and is blaming Ellen on his lack of career and happiness. I’m taking Ellen’s side.

Sounds like an ungrateful little douchebag.

Like his voice.

I’m not sure what he was expecting from her? Obviously, she jumped ship when he wasn’t successful. And she was a huge celebrity and a vicious bitch - she wasn’t going to be calling him regularly to check in. He was just something to make her money.

She’s horrible and I can’t stand her - but what he’s complaining about is pretty tame. Even his mother seems to be downplaying it.

The bigger issue is that kids shouldn’t be thrust into the spotlight at all. It’s too much pressure and they pretty much all get fucked up by the experience. His expectations of Ellen seem totally unrealistic now - but given the fact that he was a gayling musician when he knew her - it’s not surprising.

It sounds like Ellen was manipulative and promised things she didn't really mean to sell him on the idea at the beginning. Not cool to do that to anyone, but especially a kid. Happens all the time with greedy bitches like Ellen, but doesn't make it right.

That being said, some of the details are not in his favor. For example, he should've watched the documentary. It wasn't wrong for Ellen to be pissed about that.

I don’t like Ellen but this was a non-story. From the title i was expecting a big exposé on terrible behavior, but instead just whining from this twink. Even his mother doesn’t get along with his script.

I can’t stand Ellen and I’ve never heard of this twink but reading through that whining was tedious at best

The T on that whole Ellen label saga was that it was part of an undisclosed settlement the show made with the major labels who sued her for using their songs without payment. Her one season stint as judge on American Idol was also part of it. She went into the venture bitter that it was forced upon her because she didn't want to have to cough up dough. It was quite obvious that her heart was not in it, no matter what Grayson says in this interview, and that's why he and all of the other artists she signed (with the exception of Charlie Puth, who only got famous after he was dropped from Interscope) flopped so bad. I'm not surprised he was bitter about the experience, but frankly, he was never very talented and it was always going to end in tears for him.

I’m mixed on this. I didn’t think he provided enough evidence of really terrible behavior.

But he was a kid. And there’s a much higher duty of care.

He's being silly, but I'm still taking his side instead of that nasty Kevin Hart-fingering cunt Ellen.

I loathe Ellen.

Of course showbiz people don't really care about kids. Of course they only want to exploit them. OF COURSE.

They aren't social workers, they're hardened, ruthless business people.

Parents need to get that through their thick skulls. Nobody who tells you they're going to make your kid a star is doing it out of altruism. They either want money or to molest your kid. Maybe both.

At least he's not dead.

Show us your ass, Greyson!

Gayson

I'm straight, bitches!!

I'm enjoying the slew of post Covid "here's whose fault it is that I'm a failure" genre of Millienial/zoomer victim literature. Mostly, it's a 20 year old who was "abused" in a relationship with an older, famous man they pursued, but this is a fresh take.

[quote] I'm enjoying the slew of post Covid "here's whose fault it is that I'm a failure" genre of Millienial/zoomer victim literature. Mostly, it's a 20 year old who was "abused" in a relationship with an older, famous man they pursued, but this is a fresh take.

R37 Reminds me of a certain pair...

He lost me at this:

“Despite their fallout, Chance continued to make periodic appearances on “Ellen” over the years, knowing the positive impact the exposure would have on his career. Still, he described the set as “a place of active trauma for me.””

You complain that she used you, but you continue to appear on her show for what it could do for your career? He used Ellen as well. If he really felt as badly as he says he should have cut all ties with her.

I'll be your friend, Greyson!

Why I think Ellen's an idiot, this guy comes across as a whiny kid. He acts like she should have been by his side all the time.

She gave him exposure and money. That he wasn't as successful as she thought he'd be isn't on her.

I blame the parents! Any parent who thinks it’s going to be a good idea to have there child appear on social media and go on talk shows at such a young age is complicit. How’s about doing sone good parenting and declining situations like these?

R42 That's true. Some parents see the dollar signs and everything else goes out the window. I know they'll say "oh he really wants this!!" but how do they truly know at a young age?

It's like parents of those kids who make a shit ton of money with their toy review or "family" YouTube channels. They exploit their children just to get money for themselves. It's pretty despicable behaviour.

Will he write a book called I’m Glad Ellen Died, when Ellen dies?

Has Portia commented yet?

What about [bold]my trauma?

Another big nothing story. My eyes hurt from rolling so much.

Your ex sounds insufferable R18

At least with Ellen he was never gonna have to trade his butthole for a mediocre rise to fame.

It will be hard for him to claim he was molested by her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually finds a way.

R42 there’s no “their” there.

Greyson talks about coming out.

His finest moment.

[quote]Parents need to get that through their thick skulls. Nobody who tells you they're going to make your kid a star is doing it out of altruism. They either want money or to molest your kid. Maybe both.

And of course they never hear from the people who could just explain that to them. They hear from the star, or the "starmaker," and from the surrounding sycophants who are paid to parrot the star, and from the media that is more interested in getting to the star and therefore lying constantly about how wonderful they are being, and a whole lot of other people who have every reason to lie every minute of every day.

Sadly, there's really no place for the one useful person who can sit down and explain that yeah, this is all bullshit, nobody actually loves you here and the second you get off track all this will evaporate. Get ready for it. You'd think a million books and movies and TV shows about the cruelty of show business would help, but somehow when some kid is being groomed for stardom that all goes out the window.

Why must bottoms be so whiny all the time?

So I take it that claiming you were traumatized by Ellen is a fantastic way for every media whore and failed artiste to get their 15 minutes. Ellen may be mean but so are a crapload of celebrities. If she were an equally mean, stereotypically straight actress or model i bet we would see a million whiny articles from the likes of Daily Beast and Slate bemoaning her as a victim of misogyny.

I would have done a better job of looking after him than Ellen did.

As far Ellen was concerned he was just another piece of luxury CA real estate to play with. It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t understand, or his mother didn’t explain, that their relationship was strictly transactional even if she tried to come off as a mother/friend figure. Didn’t E! True Hollywood Story and Behind the Music teach a generation to be wary of Svengali-types like Ellen?

smellin degenerate

She has creepy eyes. Intense, like an animal about to attack.

Weren't Ellen and Bethany Frankel thisclose at one point? Then... they weren't. But BF has taken off on her own and gotten super rich.

To this day, the only thing memorable about Greyson is his name.

He has a pretty voice and plays the piano. You can never lose your talent. I

Yeah, I do like his voice.

Let’s be honest, him growing up not so attractive did not benefit him at all. At least that Puth guy is kind of adorable with the right angels of photography.

[quote] Yeah, I do like his voice.

He gargles with cum once a day.

He's a better singer than other gay Conan Grey who sounds like a dying cat.

Yeah, i dunno, Ellen seems like a bitch, but seems like she did pretty good by this kid. He can probably attribute what career he has to her.

He's bitchin cause Smellin done fucked up his career with all of her misguided guidance. Pulled him outta school. Bitch be telling him how to wash his under age ass, watch videos and shit. Then when his pimp wasn't raking it in anymore, she ghosted him. We all know what kind of human Ellen is, but he's bitching about her at the same time he's releasing an album. Hmmm, is'nt that special? Isn't that conveeeeniant?

Ellen is the type to pimp out little Greyson to the chickenhawks. She doesn't give a shit about the children. Greyson should have said something earlier because this is opportunistic timing.

He comes across as an endearing but naive kid. I can easily see myself saying similarly immature things at his age and what happened to him want fair but he's yet to fully understand that"fair" doesn't really exist. Ellen on the otherhand is old enough to know what the game is. You can say 'it is just business, thems the brakes!!' and sure but then everyone gets to openly call Ellen a bitch. It's one of the other

Ellen is running an underground child pedo ring of half talent child musicians out of a pizza place in the valley!

IWFHH

As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Not sure if this is worthy of a new thread, but Charlie sort of confirms what I said at R28. That vanity label was just a way for Ellen to settle a legal dispute without coughing up the cash. She was not going to put in the work to make it successful.

Why is he so CROSS with her?

Sorry couldn’t resist.

The hatred for Ellen today is way worse than it was in 1997.

Entertainment celebrities have been manipulated and shat upon for decades. They didn't complain, because they realized their success came from their own achievements. They could, and did, walk away from these abusive relationships when they didn't need them anymore.

Do you think Joan Crawford wasn't manipulated, or Elton John, or Johnny Carson or Jerry Seinfeld when they got their starts?

I get tired of hearing people blaming others for their lack of success. You got to grab the big brass ring, or you're going nowhere.

Charlie Puth backs up his story about Ellen's team giving no support, but Charlie also doesn't blame Ellen specifically.

Charlie and Greyson should get together and swap stories.

Then they can swap head after that.

[quote]He comes across as an endearing but naive kid.

The point being, r70, he *was* a kid. He didn't contact Ellen's people, they contacted *him*. Team Greyson.

Team Ellen, here.

Greyson had the opportunity of a lifetime. He should've followed Ellen's dictates and kept quiet. She might be the biggest bitch in the world, but she had the control and the money.

He was a kid being immediately thrown in the limelight, r82. Ellen should have understood that instead of playing at Pygmalion.

#metoo