Popular US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has sparked a firestorm on Twitter after posting a happy birthday message to friend Katy Perry that focused on the singer's breasts.
A barrage of criticism quickly followed the tweet, which features a picture of DeGeneres leaning in to ogle the singer's breasts, claiming double standards and referencing the recent Weinstein sexual abuse scandal.
DeGeneres posted the tweet yesterday with the caption "Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It’s time to bring out the big balloons!".
The caption references a 2013 song by Perry called Birthday where she uses the same line.
It wasn't long before the tweet drew a mostly heated response from the twitterverse, the hashtag #EllenWeinstein quickly gaining momentum on the site.
High profile pundit Piers Morgan also wasn't amused by the tweet replying with: "If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of ‘SEXIST PIG!".
Another user replied to the tweet saying: "WTF? Ellen Weinstein? @TheEllenShow totally unacceptable."
DeGeneres' fans were also out in force to defend her, with one saying: "I think we can let this go - I'm horrified by the amount of threats - but we can't let PC run amok. She's hardly making an unwanted joke."
Neither DeGeneres or Perry have made a comment on the backlash so far.
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