At one point Ellen DeGeneres had a chokehold on the daytime talk show scene. Starting in 2003 and running for a total of 19 seasons, The Ellen DeGeneres Show was a true titan.
But nowadays people seem to have almost completely forgotten about the popular comedian/talk show host. How did she go from household name to second rate celebrity seemingly overnight? Well I’ll tell you how, it turns out DeGeneres has a bit of a mean streak, among other things. When the initial allegations against Ellen came out in March, it created a snowball effect that would ultimately roll right through her decades-long career, and lead to her deciding to leave Hollywood behind.
Ellen is reportedly not as nice as her on-screen persona
Back in 2020, at the start of the COVID outbreak, a comedian by the name of Kevin T. Porter made a post to the site that we all used to know as Twitter, in which he accused Ellen of being “notoriously one of the meanest people alive.” That’s quite the statement! Porter followed it up by asking others to share their own stories about her and boy, did they.
It seems like the talk show host had a habit of mistreating staff and people around her, if the allegations are to be believed. Pretty soon, Porter’s replies were filled with horrible experiences people had either had working on the show, or with the woman herself. One individual mentioned comic Karen Kilgariff, a writer who had worked for Ellen but refused to cross picket lines during the strike, and so was fired.
Ellen’s behavior had been an open secret for years, however, as actors like Brad Garrett and Lea Thompson confirmed what the rumors were saying. Garrett even said he thought it was “common knowledge.” Singer Phoebe Bridgers also called her “Ellen Degenerate,” although many other celebrities stood up for the comedian.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the pandemic
Things only got worse going into lockdown. An article from Variety reported that workers were feeling distressed and outraged, the core stage crew “received no written communication about the status of their working hours, pay, or inquiries about their mental and physical health from producers for over a month.”
When they finally did receive communication from producers, it was to tell them to expect an almost 60% reduction in pay. Matters only continued to get worse when it was revealed that DeGeneres was working with a non-union company to help her record episodes of her show from within her own home, all while her crew were wondering if they’d be able to afford rent.
Workplace bullying, racism, and sexual harassment
Back in 2020, Buzzfeed News spoke to one current and 10 former employees about their experience working on the set, and it wasn’t good. One thing many were complaining about was the bullying and racism they experienced while working on the show. According to one individual, “That ‘be kind’ b******t only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show.” There were even reports of sexual harassment harassment on set.
The allegations were mostly against producers that worked on the show rather than against Ellen herself, although it doesn’t seem like she did much to prevent it, and as one former employee put it, “she really needs to take more responsibility.”
The allegations led to an investigation by WarnerMedia, and Ellen penned a letter to staffers addressing the issue, and apologized for her failure. Of course, at this point the damage had already been done, and it was clear that The Ellen DeGeneres Show was finished.
Other minor controversies
Ellen also made a few faux pas in the form of comments that just seemed out of touch, and if there’s one thing a regular person hates, it’s a celebrity whining about their life. In April 2020, DeGeneres spoke about the restrictive nature of lockdown. In the first episode recorded from home, she said “being in quarantine is like being in jail,” while she was sitting in her huge Beverly Hills mansion. Naturally, people thought the comment was a little tone deaf, to say the least.
The next comment came in the form of a tweet that has since been deleted. According to EW.com, the tweet posted in the wake of George Floyd’s death read, “For things to change, things must change.” Many criticized Ellen for making a vague statement that really said nothing, and didn’t take a side. She would later come out and clarify her stance in a video.
It seems that maybe by this point people were starting to realize that the “be kind” woman was not so kind, and were therefore scrutinizing her every move. Either way, these controversies would likely have been forgotten by now if it weren’t for the rest of the accusations made against her and her producers.
