Ellen DeGeneres Starts New Season Of Her Show With A Joke-Filled Monologue In Response To Allegations She Runs A Toxic Work Environment

She was neither unrepentant nor deeply apologetic, saying that she had ‘learned’ of things at the show that needed to be changed but squeezing in some jokes about her impatience.

The star’s show has been weighed down by allegations that she treated staffers with little or no respect and that senior producers allowed and encouraged a toxic work environment since earlier this summer.

Ellen DeGeneres launched the new season of her daytime talk show on Monday with a monologue where she apologized for ‘ever hurting’ anyone, took responsibility for claims she runs a toxic workplace and admitted to being impatient but insisted she was the person she appears to be on TV and not a behind-the-scenes villain.

Three producers were fired and there were questions of whether or not it would return to the air.

She was neither unrepentant nor deeply apologetic, saying that she had ‘learned’ of things at the show that needed to be changed but squeezing in some jokes about her impatience.

‘You may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show and then there was an investigation,’ she told the audience of screens on which her virtual audience appeared.

‘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.

She also said,’The truth is I am that person that you see on TV. I am also a lot of other things. 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. ‘

Fans reacted to it with mixed reactions. Some said it was half-hearted and showed how privileged Ellen is that she was not fired. Others gave her credit for it and called it sincere.

DeGeneres then announced that she had promoted Stephen Laurel ‘tWitch’ Boss to become her executive co-producer.

‘This is the Ellen DeGeneres show, I am Ellen DeGeneres, my name is there, my name is there, my name is on underwear… we have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about our show, our workplace and what we want for the future,’ she said, before vowing to make it the ‘best season’ the show had ever had.

‘I got into this business to make people laugh and feel good. ‘

Among the allegations against DeGeneres ran a workplace which fostered racism, sexual misconduct and bullying.

She apologized to staff privately in a conference call.

The controversy was first sparked by a Buzzfeed expose into the show in June which revealed claims made by one current and 10 former employees of Ellen’s talk show saying they experienced racism, fear and intimidation while working on the long-running series and accusing producers Andy Lassner, Mary Connelly and Ed Glavin of bullying.

Ellen, specifically, was accused of taking joy in making staffers cry and behaving like such a diva that employees were told not to speak to her, look at her or even stay in a room if she entered it.