Why is Ellen rewarding the family behind #TheDress with $10,000?

Viral content pays off

Published March 4, 2015 1:41PM (EST)

  (The Ellen Show)
(The Ellen Show)

Nothing on the Internet seems to fly past Ellen DeGeneres' radar these days. Certainly not #TheDress, a ubiquitous trending topic that turned the world wide web into a war zone five days ago.

DeGeneres had the family responsible for #TheDress fly in from Scotland for Tuesday's "Ellen," which required snatching one unfortunate soul from her honeymoon. To thank her for agreeing to come on the show anyway, DeGeneres gave her a trip to Grenada as a sort of "honeymoon redo." Then, she gave the whole family $10,000 for some reason. For decimating any semblance of peace on the Internet? Seems weird.


By Colin Gorenstein

Colin Gorenstein is Salon's assistant editor of internet and viral content. Follow @colingorenstein or email cgorenstein@salon.com.

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Ellen Ellen Degeneres The Dress #thedress Video Viral Content Viral Video