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“If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year”

Ellen DeGeneres has given an interview on ending her talk show.

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Ellen DeGeneres has given an interview to NBC Today show’s Savannah Guthrie on ending her talk show.

“If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year,” DeGeneres said. “I really did think about not coming back because…it was devastating. I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy.

“I just kept saying to Portia [de Rossi], ‘If I was a fan of somebody and even if I loved them….I would think there must be some truth to it, because it’s not stopping.’

“Right on the heels of that, I read in the press that there’s a toxic work environment, which I had no idea, never saw anything that would even point to that.”

When Guthrie asked DeGeneres if she felt like she was being “cancelled” she said, “I really didn’t understand it. I still don’t understand it.

“It was too orchestrated. It was too coordinated. People get picked on, but for four months straight for me. And then for me to read in the press about a toxic work environment, when all I’ve ever heard from every guest that comes on the show is what a happy atmosphere this is and what a happy place this is.”

She added, “I don’t know how I could have known when there’s 255 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings….

“It is my name on the show, so clearly it affects me and I have to be the one to stand up and say, ‘This can’t be tolerated.’

” Unless I literally stay here until the last person goes home at night…. but I do wish somebody would have come to me and said, ‘Hey, something’s going on that you should know about.’”

On the question of lower ratings she said, “Everything in Television is down. It’s got nothing to do with why I’m leaving. If I was having fun I would do the show with nobody watching.

“I really truly believe next year will be an amazing year. … if [EllenTube] is the way people are watching it that’s ok too.”

7 Responses

  2. This was tough to watch. And I still don’t agree with her. It’s her company, at the end of the day she should know what is happening with her employees regardless if there’s 5 or 255 employees. Especially when it’s on such a. Public domain… “you know”… (bloody hell how many times did she say that…)

  3. This is a tough one. If you say nothing you get criticised and when you do speak it can be pulled to pieces. She hasn’t done a great job here

  4. Oh, please. I’m sure many of us try to be good/kind people (though I have many shortcomings), but I cannot objectively say that I am either of those things because that perception is beyond my control. How I treat others and how I am consequently held in their estimation will (at least partly) determine whether I am a good person or not; not what I publicly proclaim to be. And the overwhelming majority of us don’t have PR/copywriters to present a picture-perfect façade to the unassuming public.

    People who waffle on about what great people they are strike me as nothing but arrogant and instinctively arouse distrust. Actions speak louder than words, and DeGeneres has done nothing but deflect the onus of responsibility in order to protect her brand rather than make amends for any wrongdoing. We all err, but her obstinate unrepentance contradicts her self-professed “kindness”.

  6. Ignorance can never be a defence. The statement that she had no idea about the “toxic work environment” on her shows says everything you need to know about her and how the people who worked for her show viewed her.

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