Ellen DeGeneres Apologizes For Toxic Workplace Allegations (Photo Credit – Facebook)
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Four years ago, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she faced myriad allegations regarding a toxic workplace. Now, she’s addressing the fallout in her Netflix special, For Your Approval, which was released on Sept. 24.
The special part of her standup tour, Ellen’s Last Stand, where she’s not just performing—she’s making her exit. During a stop in California, DeGeneres declared her intention to retire after this show, confirming in an Instagram post that this would indeed be her “last special.” She promised fans she was “going to talk about it,” hinting directly at the controversy.
In 2020, two years before the show ended its 19-year run, BuzzFeed released a bombshell exposé. The piece featured accounts from one current and ten former staffers who spilled the steaming tea about their experiences with “racism, fear, and intimidation” behind the scenes. The news hit hard, triggering an internal investigation by Warner Media.
DeGeneres responded to the allegations and apologized to her staff, expressing regret for how the show had evolved. She admitted letting things operate like a machine, losing sight of the people involved. However, in a 2021 interview with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, she claimed her decision to end the show had nothing to do with the scandal, emphasizing she had “no idea” her employees were so unhappy.
In For Your Approval, DeGeneres wasted no time tackling the elephant in the room. “I got kicked out of show business because I’m mean. You can’t be mean and be in show business. Yeah, they’ll kick you out—no mean people in show business. I’m out,” she joked, using her signature humor to lighten the heavy topic. Yet, her words reflected the backlash she faced—a sentiment echoed throughout her standup set.
The special is filled with quips that poke fun at her situation. “A few years ago, I started ending my show by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Here’s the downside. I can never do anything unkind, ever, now,” she mused, turning the irony of her tagline against itself. Her commentary pivoted between her public image and how unrealistic expectations turned her into a “one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced every day up steps.”
DeGeneres didn’t shy away from the impact of the rumors on her personal life. She candidly shared that she’d been in therapy, trying to handle the public’s perception of her. “At one point, my therapist said, ‘Ellen, where do you get this idea that everyone hates you?’ And I said, ‘Well, New York Times, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly. I think Elmo may have said something recently on an episode of Sesame Street,’” she said, mixing vulnerability with her usual wit.
Reflecting on her career, DeGeneres called this scandal the second time Hollywood pushed her out. The first? Back in 1997, when she came out on the cover of TIME Magazine, a moment that paused her career for years. “People in show business—they kick you out. You can’t be gay and be in show business. Eventually, they’re going to kick me out a third time for being old, mean, old, and gay. The triple crown,” she joked.
As the special drew to a close, Ellen DeGeneres shared a final thought about her legacy: “If I have a choice of people remembering me as someone mean or someone beloved… I choose that.” The crowd’s standing ovation seemed to signal a collective hope that, in time, Ellen’s legacy will be one of kindness—despite the controversy that once cast a shadow over her showbiz reign.
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