Maggie Wheeler Says Ellen DeGeneres Deserves Another Chance, Despite Firing Her

TMZ

Maggie Wheeler ain't holding any grudges about getting fired from Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom after one season back in the '90s -- so much so, she’s totally on board with another shot in Hollywood for the talk show host!

Transcript

00:00You did an interview that you got fired from the Ellen show back in the day.

00:06Why did you get fired?

00:08You have one of the greatest TV characters in history.

00:10Well, thank you very, very much.

00:12I think if you follow the history and the story of what happened on Ellen, there were

00:16so many moving parts.

00:18There was a lot of stuff that people were worried about and unsatisfied about, and it

00:21was a bit of a domino effect, and I was just the first to go.

00:25I wasn't the last to go.

00:27I have the honored position of having been the first.

00:30Before I bought a new house or a new car or anything like that, so I think it was good.

00:33How do you feel about it now?

00:35Lisa Kudrow said she was fired from Fraser, and it was one of the best things that ever

00:38happened to her, and it led her to Friends.

00:40Do you feel similar?

00:41I do.

00:42In fact, it led me to Friends as well.

00:43Oh, wow!

00:44I think it liberated me in a lot of ways, because nobody wants to be fired.

00:48It's scary, and it feels hideous, really.

00:51So after I wiped my tears and I licked my wounds, the Friends audition came through,

00:57and I felt very free, and that's why I think I was able to go in and give the audition

01:01that I did.

01:02Have you spoken to Ellen at all since the firing?

01:05Do you still have contact with her?

01:07I did in the period of time after that, but I haven't seen her in a long time.

01:11Have you watched the new special?

01:12Yeah.

01:13I saw it on a plane on my way back from New York.

01:16What did you think?

01:17I haven't seen it yet.

01:18I really thought it was incredibly interesting.

01:19I thought it sort of peeled away a lot of what was happening on the show at that time,

01:23and then, of course, it really leans into a lot of the incredibly courageous things

01:28that she did over the years in terms of moving forward the agenda of people being able to

01:33stand in their truth and be out, and it changed television, and it changed culture, and, yeah,

01:41she did a lot for the movement.

01:42Do you hope she comes back?

01:43Are you hoping she comes back?

01:45Do you feel like she deserves a second chance in Hollywood?

01:47I think, you know, Hollywood is famous for a second, third, and fourth chances, and Ellen

01:52is a brilliant comedian, and, yeah, we'll see what she decides to do.

01:57Yeah.

01:58Any message for her now?

01:59Uh-huh.

02:00Just sending love her way.

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