Stand-up comic and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres had an unceremonious end to her popular talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show after allegations of racism and a toxic work culture were reported. Many former employees of the show had accused producers and senior managers of perpetuating toxicity behind the scenes of the Emmy-award-winning show.
DeGeneres recently began her ‘Ellen’s Last Stand…Up Tour’, which was her first public appearance since the end of her talk show. She reportedly addressed the allegations and how her show ended on a terrible note. She reportedly spoke about how she felt about her public image due to the allegations, which was not taken well by fans.
Ellen DeGeneres Addresses Toxic Work Place Allegations In Her New Stand-Up Show
Ellen DeGeneres was known for her popular sitcom of the ‘90s Ellen. The show was known for being one of the first sitcoms to have an openly gay main character, with DeGeneres herself coming out as gay shortly before the episode aired. The show won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards.
DeGeneres started her career as a daytime talk show host with her show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which began in 2003. The actress hosted the Emmy winner until 2022 when it went off air after facing allegations of a toxic workplace. According to Variety, the show came under investigation after many former and working employees accused the show’s producers of promoting racism and a toxic work culture.
DeGeneres reportedly addressed the nature of her show’s ending in her new stand-up routing on ‘Ellen’s Last Stand…Up Tour’. According to Rolling Stone, DeGeneres spoke about how she felt when the show ended on a terrible note and how she felt her public image would be degraded by this. She said,
“It was so hurtful. I couldn’t gain perspective. I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal. I just thought, ‘Well this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but this is the way it’s ending.’ … I just hated the way the show ended. I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”
The stand-up comic also reportedly spoke about how she was kicked out of show business once before, referring to the cancellation of her sitcom Ellen after coming out as gay in an episode of the show.
Ellen DeGeneres playing the Victim Card Does Not Seem To Impress Fans
According to a report by BuzzFeed at the time, many former and working employees on The Ellen DeGeneres Show accused the show’s producers of promoting racism and toxicity. Many accused DeGeneres of only being kind and giving to charity (something that she became known for) as being just for show and alleged that she was actually mean on set.
Employees also mentioned that they were instructed by producers to not interact with DeGeneres on set. They demanded that the noted host take accountability and be more involved in how her show was run (via BuzzFeed). In her latest stand-up special, which is reportedly being filmed for Netflix, Ellen DeGeneres mentioned that she was kicked out of showbusiness for being gay. She said (via Rolling Stone),
“For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business. …Eventually, they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay…It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”
However, fans of the former talk show host did not seem to be impressed by DeGeneres’ victimization of her situation. Many spoke about how she did not deny any of the allegations and just spoke about how it affected her public image.
Of course, no contrition over how she ran her show
— Greg Benson aka Promising Young Himbo (@GregDB2011) April 26, 2024
Maybe she should be more concerned about it being a toxic workplace or not. ^^
— Lady Mary's Eyebrows (@L_MarysEyebrows) April 26, 2024
I'm sure the people that worked for her feels the same. 👍🏼
— Colorful Nerds🇵🇷 (@Ramon_Pesante) April 26, 2024
Read the article for more context but nope rather than own up to her mistakes she is begging for a pity party 🙄
— evil4life🇺🇦🇵🇸 (@evil4life101) April 26, 2024
“It was so hurtful. I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal” pic.twitter.com/JU72TWqTGd
— gerri alert! 🌻 succession sos (@gerrialert) April 26, 2024
Ellen DeGeneres reportedly also mentioned that there were ‘no mean people’ in show business and mentioned that she had become a one-dimensional character while hosting the talk show.
