Do You Remember: “Actually No, That’s Not the Truth, Ellen.”
Dakota Johnson didn’t wreck Ellen DeGeneres’s career, but her iconic rebuttal may have sealed the talk-show host’s fate.
It was November 2019. Christmas was in the air. Ellen DeGeneres was hosting the 17th season of her eponymous daytime talk show. Her guest was Dakota Johnson, best known to most for her performance in the 50 Shades series but there to promote the coming-of-age drama The Peanut Butter Falcon. What was expected to be another puff piece sit-down turned into one of the era’s most iconic talk show moments, and it may have been spark that brought down one of entertainment’s true titans.
If you’re like me then you probably have this moment in pop culture history memorized. I think I know it more intimately than I know the birthdays of my extended family. If you’re new to this glory then I envy you for getting to experience it for the first time. Stop here and go watch the clip.
Ellen asks Dakota (who is dressed in an appropriately festive red and black dress) about her recent 30th birthday celebration. “How was the party?” She asks. “I wasn’t invited.” DeGeneres did this a lot, prodding at her interviewees with questions about her absence in their lives. It’s a hacky line but nothing especially malicious in a typical context. But Dakota had her limeade that morning and responded.
“Actually, no. That’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited.”
