The Ellen Show is more known for its public dancing than public humiliation. That didn’t stop host Ellen Degeneres from calling out a guest for her bad behavior.
A clip that has been making its way around the internet shows Ellen addressing her audience in regards to a freebie table. The producers of the show set up a table with various promotional products, and guests could choose one to take as a souvenir. Of course, some people get stressed trying to narrow down their favorites to just one item.
“I just wanted to see how honest my audience was,” Ellen explained to the camera before revealing that the souvenir table had been monitored by hidden cameras. She started off by showing the good behavior of several guests.
One audience member had trouble deciding between a hat and a shirt. She wanted both but didn’t even consider stealing an item. You can hear her say, “I’ll just buy this,” on the hidden camera audio.
Ellen congratulated the guest on her good behavior and rewarded her with the hat she had wanted. She told the honest audience member, “Congratulations, you don’t have to buy this now.” Then, Ellen got a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
She said that anyone could have stolen any number of souvenirs, but they didn’t…except for two ladies. The hidden camera footage showed two friends perusing the items at the table.
One of them chose her souvenir and started to walk away. Then she turned back and grabbed another. Seeing her friend take more than one item, the second woman decided she too would take more than one souvenir. She grabbed a shirt, a pencil, and a shot glass before hurrying away.
When Ellen confronted the two with the footage, they were both embarrassed. The first woman claimed that she took the second item for her sister, who could not attend the taping. Ellen retorted, “A lot of people’s sisters couldn’t come.”
Ellen then sent the woman to sit in a special chair in “Ellen Jail.” Luckily for the woman, she was given a chance to deflect some of the blame onto her sister.
Fans reacted with a surprising amount of compassion for the souvenir thief. She was trying to do a nice thing for her sister after all. She just went about it in a dishonest way.
We’re not sure how the thieving audience members didn’t guess that there was a hidden camera. In any event, it didn’t turn out so bad for them. They got to be on television and they presumably got to keep their souvenirs.
The only downside was being the target of Ellen’s firm but reasonable wrath. Not bad for getting their 15 minutes of fame and extra Ellen merch.
Ellen finished the clip with a moral we can all learn from. She said, “Let that be a lesson to you. You think nobody’s watching you, and you just need to be a good person just because you want to be a good person.”