By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
How many bones are in a human ear?
An incorrect answer recently bit former Brandon Township resident Ireland Sexton during a second stint on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The 2014 Brandon High School graduate appeared on Ellen’s NBC show in March 2017, and she was asked back because she was a fun audience member. She was then called from the audience to play ‘Make It Rain’ and won $10,000 playing a game on the DeGeneres Show in July.
On Jan. 2 she returned for a second episode of NBC’s “Ellen’s Game of Games.”
“When I was in the audience of her talk show, I caught the eye of the producers while dancing in the audience,” said Sexton.
“It just so happened they were also working on the ‘Game of Games.’ They got a hold of me and asked me to fill out an application for the show.”
The “Game of Games” included a competition titled ‘The One-eyed monster,’ which challenges contestants to answer number-related trivia questions while standing in the mouth of a mechanical green monster.
If the contestant answers the question incorrectly, they remove the number of teeth that they were off from the correct answer. If the mouth doesn’t close on them, they switch and the other contestant has to answer a question from the mouth of the beast.
“I didn’t fall from the platform, but it was definitely real,” she said.

“And it (the One-eyed monster) was as tall as it looked on TV.”
Sexton was bitten first, unfortunately, when she answered the incorrect number for the amount of bones in a human ear and had to pull a whopping three teeth from the mouth of the monster, and after the second tooth, the mouth closed on her. She also explained that everything was well thought out and everyone was safe, even if they fell or were swallowed up by a monster.
“It was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had,” she said. “To be apart of the premiere of her new game show and to have the opportunity to be in Ellen’s presence again was a blessing. From growing up and watching her show to getting the chance to interact with her in person is still unbelievable.
As far as getting to meet Ellen, Sexton didn’t have the chance to meet her one on one, but says that there is no difference between Ellen on screen and Ellen in real life. She also said that between commercial breaks, the host and voice behind Dory in ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Finding Dory’ talks to the audience and makes them all feel like they’re friends.
“She’s probably the greatest human that exists on this planet,” she said. “And I love and aspire to be as giving as her. She is actually that genuine. And I love her so much.”
Sexton moved to Los Angeles in 2016 after attending Troy Michigan-based Motion Picture Institute seeking her dream of being an actress. After the show, Sexton had the opportunity to go back stage for an interview with the crew, which she said was fun.
“They also gave us a little gift, which was so sweet because just being there felt like a gift already,” she said.