Kathy Griffin: 'There's a mean side to Ellen Degeneres that nobody tells you about.'

She’s one of the most loved comedians in the world, but another famous face has warned that Ellen DeGeneres has a “mean streak” that everyone close to her knows about.

After a long career in comedy and television, Ellen DeGeneres firmly cemented herself as a star with her own talk show, and starring roles in family favourites like Finding Nemo.

In her new book, Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index, Griffin shares a story about a "daytime talk show host" that once kicked her out of a backstage dressing room at the Emmy Awards.

"I can't prove it...I heard she got me kicked out," she wrote.

The comedian - who once starred in her own reality TV show, My Life On The D-List - also claimed that DeGeneres had her "banned" from her popular talk show in her book.

Griffin said her issue with Ellen was "simple": she wishes there was more support between female comics.

"The guys in comedy are so good about sticking together. I feel sad that women don’t support each other the way the guys do," she said.

"Joan [Rivers] and I would talk about this all the time. Patriarchy pits us against each other."

But there is a silver lining for the women of the comedy world, with Griffin suggesting that the new generation of female comics are leading the way.

"You look at the younger women like Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham, they’ve got production companies, and they’re getting stuff done," she said.