The Ellen DeGeneres Show may be over, but its spirit lives on in the waistband of Bradley Cooper’s underwear. Last week Cooper made a soggy public appearance in New York, walking around in the rain with his rumored new lady, Gigi Hadid. On the one hand, their stroll together was notable because of tabloid whispers that they’re dating. On the other hand, his boxer briefs, visible over the waistband of his low-hanging sweatpants, were emblazoned with the logo of Ellen DeGeneres’s family-friendly-yet-allegedly-toxic daytime talk show. Did I mention they were neon green?
To me, a woman who has not watched much of Ellen and therefore knew nothing of the show’s merch practices, this news is both shocking and thrilling. According to the Ellen Shop website, this woman has been slinging her own line of breathable organic cotton underwear for years, and it boasts a long list of A-list fans: The “Iconic Ellen Boxers” have adorned the nether regions of Will Smith, Colin Firth, Miley Cyrus, and Heidi Klum, to name a few. As far as I can tell, most of these purported devotees received them as freebies while appearing on her show, and were performatively asked to show them off mid-interview in what became an infamous gifting gag. Given how widely she distributed her signature briefs, I must wonder: How many of her former guests are out there right now, secretly sporting Ellens under their expensive trousers? If there are 100 people in a room, could 99 of them be wearing Ellen boxers? If that room is, say, the Oscars circa 2012, yes.
However common or uncommon these underpants are, it appears Cooper has already moved on with his product placement agenda. On Monday, he and his favorite aviators stepped out wearing a $645 cashmere button-up from Hadid’s knitwear brand. As for the make of his boxers, which were safely tucked under a pair of tasteful chinos? I think we can make an educated guess.