Joe Dirt is a janitor with a mullet hairdo, acid-washed jeans and a dream to find the parents that he lost at the Grand Canyon when he was a belligerent, trailer park-raised eight-year-old.

DeGeneres, 62, shared a hilarious side-by-side photo on Instagram, comparing her former mullet to Maldonado-Passage ... Spade — he refers to him as ‘Joe Dirt.’” ...

We're assuming it has to do with the sweet feathered mullet Momma Cunningham rocks. For those that may be younger, "Joe Dirt" is a 2001 comedy starring David Spade with a Rotten Tomatoes score of ...