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Television host Ellen DeGeneres kept her promise to speak out about the misconduct allegations that haunted her show this “horrible summer” and also explained her “delicate position” of being called “the lady ‘be nice’.”
In her season 18 opening monologue, the beleaguered comedian returned to her studio on the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, Los Angeles and welcomed her virtual audience to what she hoped would be “the best season we’ve ever had.” : a chapter. that she started with an apology.
“As you may have heard, this summer there were reports of a toxic work environment in our program, and then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that should never have happened.
“I take it very seriously and want to say that I am very sorry for the people affected,” DeGeneres said in the premiere monologue, which was recorded Monday and posted on YouTube before the syndicated show aired that same day.
“I know I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that that comes with responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens in my program,” he continued.
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Controversy has hung over the Emmy-winning show since March after a viral Twitter thread from Kevin T Porter. The comedian requested negative experiences related to the series and its host, whom he accused of being “notoriously one of the meanest people in the world.”
The allegations culminated in a BuzzFeed story in July alleging bullying of current and former employees. Some crew members complained that they were abandoned during the spring production shutdown. A second report detailed cases of sexual misconduct involving the show’s three main producers.
Chris Pizzello / AP
Ellen DeGeneres apologizes at Ellen’s season opener. “I know I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that that comes with responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens in my program,” he said.
In August, executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman resigned after an investigation of the talk show produced by Warner Bros.
While the celebrated presenter issued an apology in a July memo to her staff, Monday was the first time she did so publicly as her reputation continued to decline over the summer and online campaigns reflected on who should replace her.
“This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I am Ellen DeGeneres. My name is there. My name is there. My name is on the underwear, “DeGeneres said during the monologue.
“We have had many 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.”
The light-hearted and happy-go-lucky brand presenter also explained how her nickname “be nice” came to be and how it was used against her amid the scandal.
“There were also articles in the press and on social media that said I’m not who I appeared to be on television, because I became known as the ‘be nice’ lady. And that’s how that happened: I started to say, ‘be nice. ‘kind to each other’ (to close each show) after a young man named Tyler Clementi took his own life after being bullied for being gay, “DeGeneres said.
“Being known as the ‘be nice’ lady is a complicated position,” she said, adding: “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. And I’m working on all of that. I’m a work in progress. And I’m working especially on the impatience thing. And it’s not going well. It’s not happening fast enough. “
She also said that she was not a good enough actress to fool people on a daily basis for 17 years.
“I went into this business to make people laugh and feel good. That’s my favorite activity. That and Jenga,” he said. “And now, I’m a boss of 270 people. Two hundred and seventy people who help make this program what it is. Two hundred and seventy people for whom I am so grateful. All I want is for each of them to be happy and proud. to work here. “
She spoke about the helplessness she and others had felt this summer due to the pandemic, unemployment, wildfires and “blatant racial injustice,” hoping to offer viewers an hour of escapism each day.
“I watch the news and I feel like, where do we start?” she said. “So my hope is that we can continue to be a place of happiness and joy. I still want to be the time in the day that people can go to escape and laugh.”
