This summer, as Ellen DeGeneres faced allegations she oversaw a toxic workplace, the beleaguered talk show host phoned Berkeley cancer patient Julia Lippman to give her a pep talk. .
It turned out to be an exciting time for both women.
Lippman, 21, was diagnosed with end-stage mitochondrial disease five years ago and at the top of her to-do list was a desire to meet DeGeneres. Not only did DeGeneres end up chatting with Lippman via Zoom, but she and her executive producer, Andy Lassner, traveled to Berkeley to meet her in person.
During Tuesday’s edition of “Ellen,” which featured a segment on Lippman, DeGeneres recalled that initial conversation.
“I think we walked into each other’s lives at exactly the right time,” she told Lippman via Zoom.
Without mentioning his PR issues, DeGeneres said, “It was amazing because I called to cheer you up and you ended up cheering me up. You told me to keep fighting and I’m like, ‘You keep fighting. We will both continue to fight. It was just this lovely conversation we had.
Lippman admitted that she was “having a terrible morning” when the call came in.
“You were going through things and I had just started the hospice,” she recalls. “… It was a really good time.”
During the “Ellen” segment, DeGeneres described Lippman as “kind” and “inspiring”.
“And I am lucky enough to call her my friend,” she added.
Viewers were treated to footage of Ellen’s visit to Berkeley, during which she hooked up Lippman to phone calls with pop stars Meghan Trainor and Demi Lovato, and hung out on the sofa.
The segment ended with DeGeneres announcing that she would be sending – courtesy of Shutterfly – a check for $ 50,000 to Lippman’s family to help cover some medical bills.
Lippman suffers from a rare genetic condition that prevents his body from producing enough energy to function properly.
“It was a crazy race,” she says.
