This Awkward Dakota Johnson and Ellen DeGeneres Interview Will Keep You Up at Night
Most people know Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele from Fifty Shades of Grey, but I know her as “celebrity who gives the most iconic interviews on talk shows.” Seriously, if you haven’t gone down a Dakota Johnson interview hole, then I strongly suggest you do. She is refreshingly unfiltered with a dry, almost awkward sense of humor. Look at this clip from The Tonight Show—when she shut down Jimmy Fallon for not letting her talk—or her acceptance speech from the 2016 People’s Choice Awards as proof. (Before getting to the microphone she had a slight wardrobe malfunction and said, “It’s not like nobody here hasn’t already seen my boobs.”)
The latest example of Johnson’s quick wit happened last week during her interview on The Ellen Show. Host Ellen DeGeneres claimed Johnson didn’t invite her to her birthday party in early October—which Johnson countered in a cheeky, deadpan tone.
“Actually, no. That’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited,” Johnson said. “Last time I was on the show, last year, you gave me a bunch of shit about not inviting you, but I didn’t even know you wanted to be invited.”
“Who doesn’t want to be invited to a party?” DeGeneres asked, to which Johnson said, “Well, I didn’t even know you liked me.”
“Of course, I like you! You know I like you! You’ve been on the show many times,” DeGeneres replied.
But Johnson contests that she did invite DeGeneres to her party. Their exchange gets even more hilariously awkward from there, with DeGeneres ultimately realizing she was out of town the weekend of Johnson’s birthday. (A few people have pointed out Johnson’s party was the same weekend DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were photographed at a football game in Dallas with former president George W. Bush.)
Watch the interview for yourself, below:
Twitter is having an absolute field day with this—though it’s important to note there probably wasn’t any actual tension between Johnson and DeGeneres, as some have suggested. This was clearly just a funny miscommunication between two celebs, and Johnson’s sense of humor just gave off the illusion of awkwardness. Nevertheless, the reactions are gold.
One thing is for sure: You can count on Ellen DeGeneres attending Dakota Johnson’s birthday party next year.