Wendy Williams says Ellen DeGeneres was ‘exposed for who she really is’ amid workplace scandal
'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' officially ended its successful run after 19 seasons on May 26th, 2022. It was mired with 'toxic workplace' allegations and DeGeneres had publically addressed the issue before calling it quits. However, Wendy Williams took the opportunity to criticize the veteran comedian and stated that the latter exited the television industry after being "exposed for who she really was." She further remarked during the Hot Topics segment of 'The Wendy Williams Show', "19 years on TV doesn't change your life it exposes you for the person that you really are."
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According to The Sun, Williams insisted that the allegations leveled at DeGeneres were all true, "By the way, I believe she's leaving because of the workplace conditions. I mean, we all in this room know people who've worked at the mm-hmm, mm-hmm, and people who've worked here mm-hmm, mm-hmm." The former media personality then proceeded to play snippets from DeGeneres's exclusive interview with Today's Savannah Guthrie. In the video, the former talk show host can be seen getting extremely emotional while defending the 'toxic' workplace claims. Calling out the former TV producer's "happy atmosphere" comment Williams added, "I'm not sure that all the guests are happy. I was a guest. I wasn't happy," she said referring to the moment when DeGeneres had impolitely inquired about her son's bonding.
Williams added that DeGeneres struck as someone who loved the spotlight rather than the kind of boss who would directly apologize to her staff. The stand-up comedian admitted in the interview with Guthrie that she went through a variety of emotions before deciding to call it quits. "I told my staff and my crew and that was emotional and I'm glad that I did before it leaked, I got to tell my crew from my own words. And that was emotional because I hadn't been sleeping," she said. Calling herself a "people pleaser" she further explained that her departure from the show had nothing to do with the accusations. The television host addressed the cancel culture by saying that the media ruined her reputation by spreading false allegations about her workplace for four months in a row.
She blamed the outcome on a well-planned attempt to undermine the show, but she couldn't figure out why. "I don't know how I could have known when there are 225 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings," DeGeneres replied when questioned how she was unaware of the racial harassment and abuse her employees were experiencing. "It's 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."
She continued by saying that because she was a woman and accomplished in her career, the media was demonizing her status. "I'm a woman. It felt very misogynistic, it felt like I am a boss, I have a very successful show, I've never had any complaints about anything for 17 years and it did feel sexist," DeGeneres concluded before formally announcing her retirement.