The talk show host broke her silence on the current investigation into accusations of workplace abuse after no less than 11 former and current employees came forward about their experiences of misconduct on set. Ellen DeGeneres finally addressed the situation and took this opportunity to both apologize and defend herself.
The staff that spoke up about the toxic environment they experienced mentioned workplace intimidation, racism and all kinds of mistreatment while working for the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
At the same time, they all stressed that Ellen was not really to blame since the show’s executive producers had actually prohibited them from speaking to the host while in office!
Still, Ellen DeGeneres went on to accuse some of the staff members of ‘misrepresenting’ who she truly is while also apologizing at the same time.
Ellen wrote an internal memo that was later obtained and published by Variety, that reads: ‘On day one of our show, I told everybody that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – and no one would raise their voice, and everybody would be treated with most respect. Obviously, something changed, and I’m disappointed to learn this has not been the case. And for that, I’m sorry. Anyone who really knows me knows it is the opposite of what I believe in and what I hoped for our show.’
She went on to write in part: ‘I couldn’t have the success I have had without all your contributions. My name’s on the show and everything that we do and I take responsibility for that. As somebody who was judged and almost lost everything for being who I am, I understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at, or treated unfairly or – worse – disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way’s awful to me.’