The Portia DeGeneres Show
A media brouhaha has been stirring in Australia this week over the gender-specific book publicity preferences of Ellen DeGeneres‘ significant other, Portia.
To promote her memoir Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain on the morning TV show Sunrise, via satellite from LA, Portia demanded that only the female half of the program’s co-hosting duo, Melinda Doyle, do the interviewing duties. Understandably, this did not sit well with Doyle’s colleague David Koch, who took to Twitter and ignited the ensuing firestorm.
Tweeted Koch:
Australian media has piled on, with one piece at NineMSN.com starting off with the cold-open paragraph one words, “The lesbian – …” Apparently, the gloves are off.
On the other hand, staff at Fox FM Radio in Australia have said they had no problems with the female interviewer request, which DeGeneres apparently feels is more suited to the context of the book. Still, it’s a colossal PR blunder move for Ellen’s paramour, and no doubt as things progress, her talk show host partner might have to address the situation on air or via Twitter.
[Watch the Sunrise interview between DeGeneres and Doyle here]
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