Ellen DeGeneres commented this week on the near-fatal car crash of her ex-partner, Anne Heche.
A paparazzi photographer in Santa Barbara asked the former daytime talkshow host about Heche’s current state and whether the two have stayed in touch.
“No, have not. We’re not in touch with each other, so I wouldn’t know,” DeGeneres replied.
Heche and DeGeneres started dating in 1997 and broke up in 2000.
Asked if she’d be giving well-wishes for Heche’s recovery, DeGeneres responded, “I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”
“It was quite a dangerous accident that happened, wasn’t it?” the photographer asked.
“Sure was,” DeGeneres said.
Related: Anne Heche has some things to say about her relationship with Ellen and being “blacklisted”
Heche was driving at 90-mph when she crashed her blue Mini Cooper into a two-story home in Los Angeles on Friday, August 5th. The vehicle caught fire, which destroyed the home and required 60 firefighters to extinguish. The actress is currently in a coma.
Police obtained a warrant to draw Heche’s blood to test for possible intoxication. On Wednesday it was reported that no alcohol was in her system at the time of the accident, but that the actress had been using cocaine.
“At this time, Anne is in extreme critical condition,” Heche’s rep told Deadline on Monday. “She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention.”
“She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident,” they added.
A source told Entertainment Tonight that Heche’s family “is on pins and needles, just praying.”
The the tenant of the home that was destroyed, Lynne Mishele, “is devastated by what happened to her on Friday — not only because she and her pets almost lost their lives, but because all of her property, including items of profound sentimental value, were destroyed,” her lawyer said in a statement to ET.
bachy
Poor Anne! I like her as an actress, but she’s long struck me as someone with serious psychological issues, and probably on a lot of medication. What a 53 y/o woman was doing going 90mph with a nose full of cocaine is anyone’s bet. A very destructive path.
I have no doubt Ellen feels well rid of her.
Donston
There was zero need to make this about how better off Ellen is without her. They haven’t been together for over two decades. And you’re talking about someone who seems probable to die from this accident. It ain’t the time.
1898
and there are countless people who are glad to no longer be in contact with ellen, so what’s your point? or was cruelty the point?
inbama
She had tons of talent and could’ve had a far better career, but mental illness got in the way.
Kangol2
Well before mental illness, Hollywood’s homophobia played a huge part. Or did you just forget that?
sfhairy
So Ellen had to comment on a woman she dated 22 years ago. FFS, absolute nonsense. She dated a talentless actress whose only claim to fame was dating Ellen.
Toofie
Ridiculous. She handled it pretty well but yeah, it’s been two decades since they dated. Why are the photographers peppering her with that?
smittoons
I don’t think it’s necessary to disparage Heche’s talent, she’s a Tony nominee. What she did that led to this accident is what should be criticized.
sfhairy
And Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar. Still doesn’t make her a good actress.
Cam
One of the weird things about being a celeb must be that you may have dated or worked with somebody decades ago and anytime something happens to them you get asked about it.
Can you imagine somebody walking up to you and saying “Hey, this person you dated 10 years ago got sick, how do you feel?” Weird. Ellen is married and hasn’t been with this person for something like 20 years.
JohnnyBoy2
What a BS story this is. Who cares? This is not about Ellen DeGeneres.
Gandalf The Grey
I feel very bad for Anne Heche as well as the woman who lived in that home. However no matter how bad terms they may have been on, Ellen is one cold-hearted bitch for not enquiring about her former partner or for reaching out to her family.
Kangol2
Are you kidding? Anne Heche allegedly walked away from their relationship and left Ellen in shock. Moreover, after breaking up with Ellen, Heche backtracked on being a lesbian and bisexual, which caused some consternation among some LGBTQ folks in the early 2000s. Lastly, Heche said some very harsh things about Ellen, basically saying that she, Heche, was interested in love, which Ellen only wanted to be a billionaire. This poisoned the well between them. You might not have known about or have forgotten all of this but their breakup, which appeared amicable at first, turned ugly after a few years, so think twice about so casually slamming Ellen as a “cold-hearted b****.”
kish
They dated for three years and it was over twenty years ago! And they have not remained in contact. It just sounds like Ellen did not want to play the paparazzo’s game.
sfhairy
exactly. imagine having to relive a horrible relationship because you once dated 20-something years ago.
Man About Town
If nothing else, she was scary and complex as Jeffrey Dahmer’s disturbed mom in “Dahmer.”
marxist_homo
Queerty is so freaking stupid. That headline implies that Ellen had something big to say (Ellen “breaks silence”), but the story is actually just recycling another story reporting that Ellen was basically silent when asked about it.
So dumb. They should rename Queerty to Qlickbait.
1898
per BBC News, Anne Heche is not expected to survive and is being kept on life support so that her internal organs can be evaluated for possible donation
queerty, this story is trash and you should take it down
Mr. Stadnick
This article is in very bad taste. Queerty should be ashamed of it and their pandering. Shame on you.
Harley
Why in the world was she going 90 MPH through a residential neighborhood? Regardless of whether she was impaired or not.
marxist_homo
cocaine
Kangol2
Ellen actually issued a kind statement about Heche before her ex died. She didn’t have to do this. It’s easy to slam Ellen based on some of her actions but as people are saying, their relationship ended over 20 years ago when Heche left Ellen, and expecting Ellen to have some elaborate thoughts on this very sad and tragic situation is really asking a lot.
dbmcvey
I don’t know why they push Ellen for a statement on this. They’ve been broken up for a long time, I would be surprised if they even had any contact.