Photo: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
Greyson Chance is grateful to former mentorEllen DeGeneres, even amid his ill feelings towards her.
The singer made headlines on Thursday whenRolling Stonepublished an interview in whichhe claimed DeGeneres was “manipulative,” “opportunistic” and “abandoned” himnot long after jumpstarting his career in 2010.
Shortly after the piece went up, Chance shared a video on TikTok in which he admitted that he’s still appreciative of DeGeneres, while explaining why he wanted to come forward with his alleged experience.
“I’m sure people will have a lot to say about the article and how I maybe appear ungrateful for her efforts in the beginning, and the truth is that I am grateful for her giving me a start,” said Chance. “But I’m more grateful for myself for the moments when I got dropped and everything went awry when I was a kid. I’m thankful to 15-year-old me who picked up the pieces and kept on going and kept on fighting.”
Chance became the inaugural signee to DeGeneres' eleveneleven record label after going viral with his cover ofLady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.”
In hisRolling Stoneinterview, Chance accused Ellen of being like a “hidden eye” in the early stages of his career and coming off as “controlling,” before ultimately distancing herself from him when his music began to flop around 2012. Despite setting Chance up with managers, agents and publicists, Ellen “completely abandoned” him, Chance said, around the same time they all dropped him.
A rep for DeGeneres has not commented on Chance’s claims, but a source close to theEllen DeGeneresShowteam told PEOPLE they “went above and beyond to help set him up for success, but in business that doesn’t always work out, and his career did not take off.”
While Chance appeared on the show multiple times following DeGeneres' alleged behavior, he toldRolling Stonethat he refused to be a guest for her final two weeks on air, a decision he made for his own “integrity.”
“She came out during soundcheck and she looked at me, hugged me,” he recalled of a 2019 appearance on the show in which hecame out as gay. “And she said, ‘How have you been?’ And that just killed me inside because I was like, ‘What do you mean how have I f—ing been? Where haveyoubeen?”
Chance’s allegations against DeGeneres come two years after she was accused of leading a toxic work environment at the show in twoBuzzFeedexposés. She thenaddressedthe accusations in a monologue and apologized to the “people who were affected.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Meanwhile, Change had just released his latest LP,Palladium— a record he said on Instagram Thursday “forced me to look dead in the eyes of my past and reconcile with everything I went through as a kid.”
“I feel a tremendous weight off my shoulders now that truth is out,” he wrote, adding in a follow-up Story, “I’m going to bed tonight feeling so much love and support from you all. …I am ready to move forward…”
source: people.com
