NikkieTutorials Says Her Experience With Ellen DeGeneres Taught Her to Never “Meet Your Idols”

NikkieTutorials is revealing what it’s really like behind the scenes of The Ellen Show.

On its face, Ellen DeGeneres‘ afternoon talk show appears to be a warm and positive environment that is focused on encouraging people to “be kind to one another”, as the host always says in her sign-off. But the YouTuber, whose real name is Nikkie de Jager, says her experience didn’t match the expectations she had when she agreed to do an interview after coming out as transgender. 

In a new Q&A with the Dutch publication &C, the star says her time on the show was less than satisfactory. “Call me naive, but I kind of expected to be welcomed with confetti cannons: ‘Welcome to The Ellen DeGeneres Show!’ But instead I was greeted by an angry intern who was a bit overworked,” the makeup artist said, in a translation of the interview. “I was expecting a Disney show, but got Teletubbies after dark.”

She adds she was even more disappointed when she learned she’d have to use the public restroom when the other guests had a “private toilet.” The 26-year-old shares, “I was not allowed to use the nearest toilet, because it was reserved for the Jonas Brothers. Why do they get a private toilet, I thought.” 

Private toilet or not, Nikkie says she appreciates the opportunity she had because it was great for “people who didn’t know me,” but felt the interview left her fans wanting “more news.” 

“I am happy with the experience,” she concluded. 

This isn’t the first time Nikkie’s opened up about the coldness she felt on the set of The Ellen Show. In January, the makeup artist went on the Dutch show De Wereld Draait Door, where she told the host that she felt the comedian “wasn’t as nice” as others have been. She recalled, in a translation from Dutch, “It’s nice that you say ‘hi’ before the show… she didn’t. Ellen is just such a different world.”

When asked if the host was “distant and cold,” Nikkie responded, “Just a little,” before adding, “It was a huge honor to be on that stage with Ellen, but it wasn’t as nice as I thought.”

Luckily, she came away from the moment with a lot of new lessons learned. She jokingly tells &C she hopes to meet Adele one day, but “after Ellen I figured, don’t meet your idols.”

E! News has reached out to Ellen’s rep for comment.