Ellen DeGeneres jokes her show could've been kept alive with one line: "Had I ended by saying..."
Ellen DeGeneres is revealing the one joke that could have saved her career! In the official trailer of her Netflix special titled 'Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval', the veteran talk show host talked about her controversial exit from show business. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind, that was the headline. Here’s the problem: I am a comedian who got a talk show, and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go F***k yourselves,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind," DeGeneres shared, according to a report by The New York Post.
While performing a stand-up comedy set at Coronet Theater in West Hollywood on April 24, 2024, the 67-year-old stand-up comedian delved deep into the scandal surrounding the toxic workplace allegations that saw the light of day during the final years of the talk show. "I got kicked out of show business. There's no mean people in show business. The 'be kind' girl wasn't kind. I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps. Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps?" DeGeneres quipped, as per Rolling Stone.
For the unversed, DeGeneres was accused of fostering a toxic workplace environment in 2020. At that moment, many former and current employees of the show shared their personal experiences while working on the set. As per a BuzzFeed News Report, one Black employee shared that experiencing racist microaggressions ultimately led her to quit the show, while several others stated they were fired after taking medical or bereavement leave.
The crew members of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' claimed that the talk show’s onscreen values didn’t reflect what happened behind the scenes. One former employee said, "That 'be kind' bulls** only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for show."* A Black female former employee shared that she experienced racist remarks while working on the show. She recalled that when she was hired, a senior-level producer told her and another Black employee, "Oh wow, you both have box braids; I hope we don’t get you confused." She added, "Whenever I brought up an issue to my white male boss, he would bring up some random story about some random Black friend that he had and how they managed to get over stuff. He would use his Black friend as some way to say, 'I understand your struggle.' But it was all performative bulls***."*
However, soon after, DeGeneres offered a sincere apology to her crew members. "I learned that things happened that should never have happened. If I've ever let someone down, if I've ever hurt their feelings, I am sorry for that," DeGeneres said in an episode of her show, as per BBC. DeGeneres also assured fans, "We have made the necessary changes and today we're starting a new chapter." However, the toxic workplace scandal left a lasting mark on her reputation, and the show ultimately ended in 2022 after 19 seasons.