Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Ellen DeGeneres
Topics: News, US News, Oscars, Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Celebrity
Kit Roberts
Topics: News, US News, Oscars, Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Celebrity
Ten years on, people are still talking about the infamous 'Ellen Oscars Selfie'.
For those who aren't familiar with this particular Oscars escapade, this was a selfie involving a number of Hollywood A-listers.
The selfie was taken in back in 2014, back when we'd only lived through one 'once in a lifetime' unprecedented international catastrophe.
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So who's in the selfie?
Going clockwise from the left, we have Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Angelina Jolie, Peter Nyong'o, Bradley Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, and Meryl Streep.
That's quite a line-up!
So what exactly is this 'curse' from the selfie?
Well, according to NY Post's Johnny Oleksinski, it's all come because for a few of those in the picture, they've faced a few controversies over the past few years - starting, of course, with DeGeneres.
In 2020, a BuzzFeed article was published which included allegations that she had created a 'toxic workplace environment' on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
In 2022, the show, which has run for 19 years, finished.
After an investigation, DeGeneres addressed the allegations by saying that she had 'learned that things happened here that never should have happened'.
"I take that very seriously, and I want to say I’m so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realise that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show."
She added that they had 'made the necessary changes' and had 'started a new chapter'.
In 2017, Kevin Spacey was fired from his lead role in House of Cards after actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexual assaulting him as a teenager - which Spacey vehemently denied.
He was also charged on four separate accounts of sexual assault against three men.
Regarding the allegations at the time, Spacey said he was confident that he could prove his innocence, calling the accusations against him 'madness'.
In 2023, the Baby Driver star was found not guilty and was subsequently acquitted of several other charges of a similar nature in the US and UK, while other charges were dropped.
Rapp's lawsuit against the actor was also dismissed after a jury unanimously decided that Spacey did not molest him.
Next, we move onto Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who were involved in an acrimonious divorce, citing 'irreconcilable differences'.
This involved an allegedly violent incident on a plane, and a struggle over ownership of a French vineyard.
Pitt’s team has denied all accusations and federal authorities investigated the alleged incident but but declined to bring about criminal charges.
Sadly they weren't the only relationship to end in divorce, as Meryl Streep and Don Gummer, who have been married for 45 years, revealed they had been separated since 2017.
As for Cooper, Leto, and Roberts, all have seen some career success waning since the picture.
Cooper has since been nominated for an Academy Award ten times, but has never won one.
Roberts is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but has unfortunately since 2014 had a string of flops - though her
Leto, meanwhile, starred in Suicide Squad, Morbius and Haunted Mansion - which earnt 26, 15 and 37 percent on Rotten Tomatoes respectively.
However, they have also had some huge hits - with Robert's most recent film Leave the World Behind reaching a huge level of success.
Cooper's Maestro has also received some good reviews and seven Oscar nominations, while Leto has had a few hits, namely Zack Synder's Justice League.
So not all bad.