Ellen DeGeneres is facing backlash on social media over what critics claim was a measly donation in support of Matthew Wright, the executive producer of her talk show who died suddenly at the age of 52.
Wright, who worked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 16 years, passed away late last week while travelling away from his family in Los Angeles, according to reports.
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While details around the cause of Wright’s death are unknown, a GoFundMe page set up for his family said he passed away suddenly in an “unfathomable tragedy”.
“His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye,” the GoFundMe page read. “We’re asking for all of his friends, who Matt loved so fully, to help the family at this time.”
The fundraiser has already surpassed its goal of $70,000, with a GoFundMe profile bearing DeGeneres’ name listed as donating a little over $7000 to the page.
DeGeneres’ apparent donation divided opinion, with some claiming the talk show host should’ve given more and others saying she wasn’t obligated to donate anything in the first place.
“Is she broke?” one critic wrote on X, while others sarcastically said DeGeneres was a “big spender”.
“Wow, 0.001% of her net worth! How generous!,” another user wrote, with a fourth demanding saying the donation “comes off as cruel” given DeGeneres is “worth hundreds of millions of dollars”.
Others defended the star, saying “at least she was willing to donate money”.
“She gave money. She didn’t have to give any. Leave her alone,” one X user wrote, with another agreeing DeGeneres “could’ve given nothing at all”.
The commentary comes after DeGeneres shared an emotional video tribute to Wright, who produced her former talk show up until its conclusion amid a flurry of controversy and allegations back in 2022.
“He was an amazing guy,” DeGeneres said while holding back tears in the Instagram video.
“He was funny. God, he made me laugh. He would surprise me with things that he did all the time. He was smart. He was kind. He was the part of our show that — I mean, everyone loved him. I loved him. And it’s just shocking — it’s shocking,” she added.
DeGeneres made a rare public appearance late last month with a surprise guest spot on The Graham Norton Show, where she admitted she “really miss[ed] being on TV”.