She’s back!
Ellen DeGeneres returned to the studio to tape the season 18 premiere of The Ellen Degeneres Show, which premiered Monday, and wasted no time addressing her and the show’s turbulent hiatus.
“If you’re watching because you love me, thank you,” she said as she kicked off the monologue, joking, “If you’re watching because you don’t love me, welcome.”
“How was everybody’s summer — good? Mine was great,” she continued.
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Then she struck a more serious tone and said she’s “learned things that happened here that never should have happened.”
“I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected,” DeGeneres said.
“I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power and I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”
Related: Ellen DeGeneres pens letter to staff about the allegations against her show
She was referring, of course, to news reports in which current and former employees described the show’s behind-the-scenes culture as rife with problems, from fear and intimidation tactics to charges of racist behavior from high-level staff.
That led to three senior producers — Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman — being fired ahead of the season 18 premiere.
“We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace, and what we want for the future,” Ellen told her audience. “We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter.”
She also addressed accusations of a more personal nature, that her “always nice” image that the talk show has built up isn’t realistic. “Being known as the ‘be kind’ lady is a tricky position to be in,” she said, adding that while her on-screen image is authentic, she is “also a lot of other things.”
Related: People are coming out of the woodwork to accuse Ellen Degeneres of ‘mean’ behavior
“Sometimes I get sad, I get mad, I get anxious, I get frustrated, I get impatient,” she said. “I am working on all of that. I am a work in progress.
“I’m especially working on the impatience thing because… and it’s not going well, because it’s not happening fast enough. I will tell you that. This is me and my intention is to always be the best person I can be. And if I’ve ever let someone down, if I’ve ever hurt their feelings, I am so sorry for that.”
Watch:
Cam
“Then she struck a more serious tone and said she’s “learned things that happened here that never should have happened.””
__________________
Except for the fact that multiple reports about her own behavior are out there. So claiming she was oblivious and “learned” about this is probably not going to fool many.
Cazin
You are conflating reports of her allegedly being “mean” with the issues of certain upper management individuals on the show engaging in sexual harassment or racial discrimination. There are no reports Ellen sexually harassed or racially discriminated against anyone, and apparently Warner Bros. agrees after a months long investigation. In any event, she responded and the show has gone on. Her actual regular fan base does not seem to be too impacted by the allegations. People who never or rarely watched her show will likely continue to never or rarely watch her show.
Cam
@Cazin
Except for the fact that multiple employees fingered Ellen as behind the behavior. And one of the repeated examples was employees being told not to look her in the eye. If Ellen was not the person asking for that, then she would be asking “Hey, why the heck isn’t anybody looking at me?”.
Additionally other reports came out from her household staff, as well as people who work on other sets for other shows in the same studio as Ellen who said she is a nightmare, and even goes over to other sets to yell at people for eating meat. Additionally, they stated that employees from Ellen’s show would go to other sets to eat to hide from her.
So no.
Harley
Did anyone look closely for the matchsticks hidden in various places?
Durwood
Massive deflection fail. How about simply being the “Real Lady”.
Cam
Curious to see if Drew Barrymore takes some of Ellen’s audience.
GayEGO
Who knew!
MISTERJETT
team Ellen here!!!!
Denny98
Both Drew’s show as well as Ellen’s 18th season premiered today. I will continue to watch Ellen, however could not take Drew’s show.
LumpyPillows
Being an employee isn’t great anywhere. There are a lot of whiney, poor-performing employees out there too. Life is complicated. I have no idea if Ellen crossed lines as a boss that warrant being tarred and feathered. I do believe this is most likely more of the cancel-culture at work stirring things up with their typical pinched-face meanness. I’ve yet to read any credible evidence Ellen crossed any lines as a boss. Can she be a tough boss? Probably, which is why she has been successful.
Cam
Funny how the right wing troll account comes in and lies.
There have been credible accusations from more than one employee and other people on the studio against Ellen. But in typical Republican fashion, you assume the employees are poor performing and whiny and the abusive boss is great.
You literally described the platform of the GOP.
LumpyPillows
@cam It is so ironic – you apparently have more in common with Ellen than I do. You attack everyone who does not agree with your small-minded world view. Unless you have something to say about my opinion that you can back up, keep it to yourself.
LumpyPillows
@cam and, PS, I did not say those things. You misrepresent things just like a republican. You are, in fact, a b u l l y.
mecmass
Cam calls others “right wing trolls” when HE is the troll. Never says anything nice about anyone or anything, always trying to stir the pot. The kind of snarky stereotype bitchy queen that gives gay people everywhere a bad name.
Cam
@LumpyPillows
Sweetie, if you’re going to claim you didn’t say something, you may not want to make that claim 4 inches below the post where you said those things.
@mecmass LOL!!! Oh wow! You brought out THIS old screename to defend yourself? Queerty must have banned a ton of your other accounts if you had to go THIS far back into your files.
LumpyPillows
@cam you are irritating and a b u l l y. Rethink your approach or be considered a TROLL.
Polaro
@cam I stopped posting due to people like cam. Nasty, self-important and boring.
Alex_S
Go girl! We all know that people who accuse you of treating them badly and of mobbing are lesophobes and misogynists! You are the best!
Cam
Except for the fact that she’s also been accused of being a monster by other LGBTQ people.
ElPillo
Go ahead, eat your own again
dhmonarch89
just another American hypocrite- she refused to have Joan Rivers on her show because she said Joan was mean…. Ellen acted nice, Joan was nice- people who worked for her LOVED her! They have talked multiple times about how generous, kind and thoughtful Joan was. Kathy Griffin tried to tell us this, but no one was listening.
Joshooeerr
Well, that couldn’t have seemed more fake or more desperate. The bit at the end of making the DJ a co-executive producer (look: DIVERSITY!) while admitting he was a fake before was particularly meta. As a talk show host Ellen is now about as warm and relatable as Jerry Langford in The King of Comedy.
Den
Nobody seems to get particularly bent out of shape over Streisand’s similar aversion to workers and stage hands looking at her. And there are several other celebrities with that odd foible and others equally vexing.
They are people, and fame is as likely to inflame neuroses as to soothe them.
And she owned up to anger, impatience and so on.
Other than accusations against her producers, this all seems a tempest in a teapot and a frenzy of criticism over nothing. Just because she is rich, those who work for her are not necessarily more honest or correct in their attribution of motive. Ethics are not automatically (or even most often) in an inverse relationship to economic status!
As for her making making Twitch an executive producer…It just might be that he is bright, articulate and creative, as his years on “So You Think You Can Dance” strongly suggest. Claiming it is a fake attempt at diversity is lame, suspect and stupid.
I am not a fan, have only watched the show a few times, and despise her game show…but honestly you knee-jerk folks need to learn to think!
The real Bruce
Very well said Den. I agree.
Cam
More like a typical corporate CEO. Treats employees horribly then blames people under her when caught.