Ellen DeGeneres Under Fire for Katy Perry Breast-Ogling Tweet

“If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of ‘SEXIST PIG!'” Piers Morgan declares

Ellen DeGeneres

Did Ellen DeGeneres make a boob of herself on social media Wednesday?

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” host came under fire after wishing “Roar” singer Katy Perry a happy birthday — by tweeting a photo of herself staring at Perry’s breasts.

“Happy birthday, @KatyPerry!” DeGeneres wrote on Wednesday, the singer’s 33rd birthday. “It’s time to bring out the big balloons!” (The latter half of DeGeneres’ message was a quote from Perry’s song “Birthday.”)

The message was accompanied by a photo of DeGeneres with a dropped-jaw expression, her eyes honed in on Perry’s, uh, balloons.

While DeGeneres likely isn’t the first person to be transfixed by Perry’s breasts, the tweet came under fire from some critics who seemed to believe that it constituted a double standard.

“If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of ‘SEXIST PIG!’” British media personality Piers Morgan stated.

The tweet found another detractor in the form of “Atypical” star Michael Rapaport, who offered a similar critique.

“Imagine if Cam Newton or any other Man sent out this tweet & photo,” tweeted Rapaport, who also offered, “If a DUDE said this the World would stop.”

Wrote another critic, “Ellen DeGeneres sexually harasses Katy Perry. Wonder how she interviews female employees? Hollywood = #Weinstein,” referencing the recent sexual-misconduct scandal surrounding producer Harvey Weinstein.

“For Ellen’s next trick, she’ll explain to us all how objectifying women is a bad thing,” read another reaction to the photo.

“It’s not harassment if Ellen DeGeneres does it,” yet another response read.

“‘Ellen Weinstein?’ Ellen DeGeneres SLAMMED for ‘tasteless’ tribute to Katy Perry,” another tweet on the topic read.

Clearly, a number of Twitter users felt that they had something to get off their chests about the photo.

TheWrap has reached out to a DeGeneres representative for comment on the tweet.

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