Fans Call Out Ellen DeGeneres For Scaring Kim Kardashian With A Spider

Kim Kardashian made a swift departure from The Ellen DeGeneres Show after the host attempted to cure her fear of spiders on Wednesday's (13 April) show. DeGeneres, 64, brought out a plastic animal box, which she told the SKIMS founder contained a live spider.

Kim, 41, has been open about her arachnophobia for a long time, breaking down in tears during a 2007 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians after Kris Jenner spotted a spider on her shoulder while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“You’re not doing this to me, I’m never going to get over it,” Kardashian told DeGeneres as the host showed her the box on the show.

“It’s not loose, it’s not a loose spider,” DeGeneres assured her as Kardashian became visibly distressed, leaving her seat and screaming, “No! No. No. No. We’ve been through this before."

Despite her guest’s distress, DeGeneres lifted the lid off the box, which was actually empty, and pretended to hold the spider before throwing it at Kardashian, who screamed and ran off stage. “It’s not real!” DeGeneres shouted, laughing. While DeGeneres and the live studio audience found the prank highly amusing, fans on social media criticized the talk show host for exploiting Kardashian’s genuine phobia. Kim was over it and said, "Goodbye everyone!" as she made her departure.

See what fans had to say about the prank below: