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Ellen DeGeneres calls herself a 'work in progress' as she returns to show, Internet slams 'half a**ed apology'

'I don't think that I'm that good that I could come out here every day for 17 years and fool you... this is me'

Ellen DeGeneres has returned to her namesake chat show ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. The episode on September 21 was the first after the 62-year-old found herself embroiled in controversy after many of her former and current employees came forward alleging a “toxic” work environment.

During the first episode of Season 18, DeGeneres apologized on air to her audience and took responsibility “for what happens at my show.” She started, “If you're watching, because you love me, thank you. If you're watching it because you don't love me, welcome. How was everybody's summer? Good. Yeah, mine was great. Terrific. I'm so happy to be back in the studio. There are a lot of things I want to talk about. I've been looking forward to addressing it all directly and unfortunately talking directly to people has been illegal for six months."

Continuing, DeGeneres said: “As you may have heard this summer, there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show. And then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously. And I want to say, I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power. I realized that with that comes responsibility and I take responsibility for what happens at my show. This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I am Ellen DeGeneres.” The comedian said, “we have made the necessary changes. And today we are starting a new chapter."

DeGeneres also addressed the accusations that stated that in reality, she was very different from her reel personality. “The truth is I am that person that you see on TV. I am also a lot of other things. I sometimes I get sad. I get mad. I get anxious. I get frustrated. I get impatient. And I am working on all of that. I am a work in progress and I'm especially working on the impatience thing, and it's not going well because it's not happening fast enough,” she said, adding: “I'm a talk show host and you know that. But maybe some of you know I was an actress. I've played a straight woman in movies. So I'm a pretty good actress. I don't think that I'm that good that I could come out here every day for 17 years and fool you. This is me. And my intention is to always be the best person I can be. And if I've ever let someone down, if I've ever hurt their feelings, I am so sorry for that.”

Taking note of the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and other natural calamities, DeGeneres said, “this has been a horrible summer for people all around the world. People are losing their jobs. People are losing loved ones to a pandemic. People are losing their homes and lives in raging fires that are going on. So my hope is that we can still be a place of happiness and joy. I still want to be the one hour a day that people can go to escape and laugh. I want to continue to help all the people that we help every day. And I'm committed to making this the best season that we have ever had."

After ending her monologue, the actress congratulated Stephen "tWitch" Boss for her promotion. tWitch was a DJ on the show since 2014 but now has been promoted to co-executive producer. “This summer was a little crazy. It was intense, but during that time there’s been a lot of learning, a lot of discussions, a lot of listening. You and I have had numerous discussions and for me, I’m just so excited to be back here in the studio so we can do what we do best, which is bring laughter, love, and fun and also lead by example by putting our best foot forward after a bounce back. It’s all love,” tWitch said, to which DeGeneres added: “It’s all love. That’s all that's real, is love. That’s the truth.”

After DeGeneres’ first direct apology, several people took to Twitter to express their views with one saying: “The moment you invited a bigot onto your show to attack my religion, consequently disrespecting millions of good people, is when you showed your true colors. That is not kindness, but the spreading of hate. I will never watch your show again.” A second user tweeted: “She's not a good person, that's why she had to make this half a**ed apology, which was only made to keep the cash coming in.”

However, not everyone was harsh to her. “It takes more than courage to apologize.  Only God knows if the allegations against Mrs Ellen DeGeneres are true or not.  You are incredible Mrs Ellen. Love you, from India”. Another one added: “THAT is true leadership. Personal accountability, ownership, authenticity, vulnerability.  Thank you Ellen for your leadership and continuous positive contributions to our world. #leadership #accountability”.