You've probably seen the headlines: The striking writers aren't very happy with Ellen DeGeneres.

You see, she gave them a puppy, and the dog was a great companion out on the picket lines. But then Ellen returned to whisk the canine away, mumbling something about an animal shelter and bad PR. Despite the tears and pleas of hundreds of unwashed writers in need of a little puppy love, the mutt will never again march and chant with his guild brothers and sisters.

Nah, it's something much more serious: The writers want Ellen to stop taping her talk show until the strike has ended. The WGA East issued a statement on Friday, and it got personal:

In anticipation of her plans to tape shows in New York City on November 19th and 20th, the Writers Guild of America, East is extremely disappointed to see that Ellen has chosen not to stand with writers during the strike. Ellen’s peers who host comedy/variety shows have chosen to support the writers and help them get a fair contract, Ellen has not. On her first show back, Ellen said she loves and supports her writers, but her actions prove otherwise. ...

We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day — writers who have helped make her extremely successful. … continue reading

On Tuesday, I blogged about Ellen DeGeneres' troubles with a pet adoption agency. Well, as these things often do, the drama has escalated — all the way to death threats. It seems the owners of the Mutts and Moms agency have received phone calls and e-mails threatening bodily harm and arson. They continue to refuse to return Iggy the dog to Ellen's hairstylist's home.

My favorite part of the AP story is this comment from a spokesperson for the owners of the agency:

"[Marina Batkis, one of the owners,] is adamant that she is not going to be bullied around by the Ellen DeGenereses of the world ... They are using their power, position and wealth to try to get what it is they want."

Uh, the "Ellen DeGenereses of the world"? You mean there are more gay, funny, dancing talk show hosts out there somewhere? Wait, does he mean this world, or Planet Unicorn?

Some reports are saying that Portia, not Ellen, signed the adoption agreement; other reports say nobody signed anything; others note that the agency didn't follow its own home inspection and microchip procedures when Iggy first went to Ellen's house. Who knows how it will all shake out. I do know that the threats of death and arson are pretty pathetic — it's obvious that both Ellen and Iggy advocate pie-throwing, not violence, in cases like these.

TMZ.com has a video clip from Ellen's pre-taped show (set to air on Wednesday). Tune in to your local broadcast for the full story, and check Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. on Friday for further updates and commentary. (Or, well, if it's something really earth-shattering or we feel really inspired, we'll blog about it first.)

On her show today, a tearful Ellen DeGeneres shared some sad news. As you may have already read on People.com or another site, Ellen had to give away her dog Iggy because the pup didn't get along with her cats. Trouble is, in finding the dog a new home, Ellen violated the terms of the adoption agreement she signed with the Mutts and Moms dog rescue agency.

Ellen gave the dog to her hairdresser's daughters, ages 11 and 12. The agency called Ellen just to check on Iggy, and when she told them about his new living situation, they sent a representative to take the dog away from the kids. The adoption agreement stipulated that the dog was to be returned to the organization if things didn't work out. "I thought I did a good thing," Ellen said, sobbing and begging the agency to give the dog back to the girls. Here's a clip: … continue reading

I forgot to do a TV alert about this yesterday — Queen Latifah was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Sorry about that. (Maybe you don't care, judging by your reaction to her comments to Glamour.) Nothing gay was discussed, so you didn't miss anything earth-shattering if you didn't see it.

I figure the least I can do is provide you with a clip of the best moment of the show. This is why I'm still a loyal subject: … continue reading

Rosie O'Donnell's in the news again, this time for comments she made in a new video posted on her blog suggesting (okay, outright stating) that the reason Ellen DeGeneres never talks about gay stuff on her show is that she is contractually forbidden from doing so.

Here's what happened: Rosie read a question from a reader asking, "why do you talk about being gay all the time? Gay, gay gay. Ellen never mentions it." Rosie responded:

Ellen's not allowed to -- she signed a contract saying she wouldn't. It was on the heels of my show, so that's why she doesn't. But you know what, she also paved the way for a lot of gay people, especially on TV, there were no gay shows on TV. She was pre-Will and Grace, remember that. So you know, I talk about gay because I like to, and she doesn't talk about gay because she doesn't want to, or she's can't, but who cares? It's fine. Gay, gay, gay, gay.

TMZ contacted a rep for Telepictures, producers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, who responded by joking, "She's gay? Who knew?" then added that this is completely untrue, and that they have no such contracts with any of their hosts, saying,"Ellen is free to talk about whatever she wants and we encourage her to do so."

Hmmm. I guess if it's a question of who to believe -- Hollywood publicists or Rosie -- I'm erring on the side of Rosie, because whatever else you might say about her, you can't really call her a liar (in fact, it's Rosie's willingness to speak uncomfortable truths that makes her such a media favorite). That said, she may have her facts wrong and not know it. … continue reading