Note to Ellen: This name is pronounced "Tee-Tee," not "Titty."
A Georgia real estate agent is suing Warner Bros. after Ellen DeGeneres made her the butt of a joke during a segment called "What's Wrong With These Ads ... And These Signs?" in February.
"Nipple Convalescent Home," DeGeneres said, reading a sign. "What boob named that place?"
DeGeneres then showed a real estate sign and read, "Titi (pronounced "Titty") Pierce.
"Oh, Titi Pierce," DeGeneres said after the audience stopped laughing. "Sounds like she might have spent some time in that nipple home."
Titi means "flower" in Nigerian. Pierce claims no one had ever called her "Titty" before the show aired.
The 35-year-old filed a lawsuit last week, claiming defamation, invasion of privacy and emotional distress. WMAZ posted the court documents online.
The show only blurred out one phone number on the sign, not Pierce's cellphone number, which appeared under her name. Pierce found out about the segment when she started getting harassing phone calls after the show aired. She was at a family funeral at the time.
Pierce says she contacted the show and explained how to pronounce her name and told them her cellphone number was not blurred out. The show then blurred out the number on its videos posted online. However, the show aired again in April, and the number was not blurred out. The second airing led to more ridicule and harassment, according to the suit.
Pierce is seeking monetary damages and calling for the show to stop airing the segment on television and online.
This video includes clips from NBC / "The Tonight Show" and images from U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, Telepictures Productions Inc. and Getty Images.
