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Ellen’s show is back
Ellen DeGeneres returned for season 18 of The Ellen Show this week.
In his opening monologue, he addressed the toxic workplace allegations against the series.
She started: “If you are looking because you love me, thank you.”
“If you’re looking why you don’t love me, welcome!”
“How was everyone’s summer? Mine was great!” Ellen said very sarcastically.
He continued: “I am very happy to be back in the studio, there are many things I want to talk about.”
“I really wanted to address everything directly.”
“Unfortunately, talking directly to people had been illegal for six months, so I have a virtual audience here.”
Acknowledging the accusations
Ellen acknowledged allegations of a toxic work environment on the show.
He admitted that there was an investigation and learned a lot from it.
“I learned that things happened here that should never have happened.”
Ellen insisted that she takes this “very seriously” and “is very sorry for the people affected.”
He said he recognizes that he is “in a position of privilege and power,” and takes full responsibility for what happens in his program.
“This is the Ellen DeGeneres show. I’m Ellen DeGeneres,” said the host.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations over the past few weeks about the program, our workplace, and what we want for the future.”
“We have made the necessary changes and today we are beginning a new chapter.”
Ellen went on to talk about how the media and people online have accused her of not being who she appears to be on television.
The ‘be nice’ lady
The 62-year-old said these accusations stem from the fact that she “became known as the ‘be nice’ lady.”
“I started saying, ‘be nice to each other,’ after a young man named Tyler Clementi took his own life after being harassed for being gay.”
“I thought the world needed more kindness and it was a reminder that we all needed it.”
“And I think we need it more than ever right now.”
“Being known as the ‘be nice’ lady is a tricky position,” Ellen continued.
“The truth is that I am that person you see on television. I am also many other things.”
“Sometimes I get sad, I get angry, I get anxious, I get frustrated, I get impatient.”
“I am a work in progress.”
Ellen insisted that she is working on all these things, “I am a work in progress.”
“I’m especially working on the impatience thing and it’s not going well because it’s not happening fast enough,” he joked.
“I’m a talk show host and you know it. But maybe some of you know that I was an actress.”
“I’ve played a straight woman in movies, so I’m a pretty good actress,” Ellen said.
“But I don’t think it’s good enough to be able to come here every day for 17 years and cheat on you. This is me.”
“And my intention is always to be the best person I can be.”
Watch Ellen’s full opening monologue here:
In August, it was announced that three senior producers had left The Ellen Show after an internal investigation.
Read more here.
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