The 25-year-old singer posted a video on social media doubling down on his claims against the former TV host.
Greyson Chance is standing by his claims that Ellen DeGeneres is "manipulative," "blatantly opportunistic" and "way too controlling" hours after a report surfaced detailing his once close relationship with DeGeneres and their fallout.
The 25-year-old singer posted a video on TikTok Thursday and said he stands behind all of what he said in an explosive Rolling Stone profile in which the singer also referred to DeGeneres as "domineering" in the months and years that followed after his 2010 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a 12-year-old who went viral when he performed Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at his Oklahoma middle school.
"And I stand behind all of it," Greyson said. "You know, I've been wanting to tell this story now for multiple years and was repeatedly told not to but the truth is, what you saw on TV and what was pitched out to the mainstream just wasn't what was happening behind the scenes."
Chance also said that getting older has helped him find perspective after all of these years.
"Now that I'm 25 and I'm older, I can recognize that what happened to me as a kid was not cool," he added. "And I've had to wrestle with so much of that PTSD and so much of that trauma as I've been growing up as a musician and as I've been fighting the industry to continue to make music and to still do this."
@greyson_chance it’s just the truth
♬ original sound - Greyson Chance
The singer -- who with help from DeGeneres, signed with powerhouse talent agency William Morris Endeavor and to DeGeneres' music label, eleveneleven -- said he's sure people will form their own opinions about why he decided to go public with his allegations.
"And I'm sure people will have a lot to say about the article and how I maybe appear ungrateful for her [DeGeneres'] efforts in the beginning, and the truth is that I am grateful for her giving me a start," Chance said, "but I'm more grateful to 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 that picked up the pieces and kept on going and kept on fighting."
Chance told Rolling Stone that, after signing with DeGeneres' label, he soon released a mini EP in October 2010 and kicked off an intense touring schedule that saw him performing in Canada, Paris, London and across the U.S.
Chance claimed she became "really invested" in him, but also "domineering and way too controlling."
Among the allegations: Chance claimed DeGeneres made him reshoot videos if she didn't like what she saw; Chance was specifically never allowed to wear leather, due to DeGeneres' commitment to veganism at the time. Chance claimed DeGeneres was so controlling, she'd sift through his clothing rack and yell at stylists and berate them for the clothing options presented.
A rep for DeGeneres declined comment to Rolling Stone. ET has also reached out to DeGeneres for comment.
Chance claimed his relationship with DeGeneres became distant after his music underperformed and ticket sales plummeted in 2012. He claimed she disappeared, as did the fancy WME agents she helped him land. By November 2012, Chance claimed DeGeneres' record label dropped him.
Chance ultimately released a handful of singles, and even returned to do Ellen in 2015 when he was 18. During that appearance, Chance said DeGeneres told him she was proud of him but claimed they never spoke backstage. Chance released an EP dubbed Somewhere Over My Head in 2016, and he returned to Ellen three years later and performed the song "Shut Up."
He claimed that, during that Ellen appearance, DeGeneres came out during soundcheck and hugged him and asked him how he’d been.
"And that just killed me inside because I was like, ‘What do you mean how have I f**king been?'" Chance asked rhetorically. "'Where have you been?'"
During that 2019 interview, DeGeneres told Chance how proud she was of him coming out as gay, something he had done just two years prior.
"She had nothing to do with that. …[When I came out,] I hadn’t spoken to her in years…. That’s so messed up, that you’re now showing the world as if we’re so tight," he told Rolling Stone. "We’re so good. And behind the scenes, you are this insanely manipulative person."
Chance, who said he chugged small bottles of Tito's vodka after most shows, told the magazine he vowed never to return to the show following that 2019 interview. Since then, he’s become a rising star and has performed over 100 concerts. He just released a new album, Palladium.
When DeGeneres' show was winding down earlier this year following a 19-season run -- the final seasons of which were marred by toxic workplace allegations following a damming BuzzFeed expose in July 2020 -- Chance claimed Ellen producers called to have him appear one last time. He claimed he declined not once, but twice after producers told him they’d have him on during the show’s final two weeks when the show was destined for peak viewership.
"How in the world am I supposed to sit down and say I’m so thankful and let her take that moment," said Chance, who briefly retired from music and attended the University of Tulsa before resuming his music career. "'Look at what I did for this kid. He’s now an artist. He’s now still performing, and it’s all because of me.'"
"I couldn’t do that," he added. "So I turned down a national-TV gig on the eve of an album release, which is probably not a smart thing to do, but I had to do it for my integrity."
RELATED CONTENT:
