Former staff at The Ellen DeGeneres Show say her new special ‘misrepresents’ abuse allegations

Former staff at The Ellen DeGeneres Show say her new comedy special Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval “misrepresents” the abuse allegations against DeGeneres.

The former talk show host returned to Netflix for a second and final stand-up show after allegations surrounding staff treatment came to light in 2020. Back in 2020, former employees of the talk show famously told BuzzFeed News of alleged racist comments and a “toxic” environment on set. 

Several former staff members claimed that DeGeneres’ optimistic and happy personality was “bull****” that “only happens when the cameras are on“. There were also allegations of racism, bullying and harassment being rampant behind the scenes of the daytime talk show. The long-running series ended in May 2022, almost two years after the initial report was published. 

Now, six former staff members have come forward for a second time, telling Rolling Stone that DeGeneres glazing over the allegations as a celebrity who was “kicked out of show business” suggests that the former talk show host “continues to invalidate and deny our experience”. 

In the comedian’s new comedy feature Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, the former talk show host appeared to address the allegations by defending herself and saying that she’s “spent an entire lifetime trying to make people happy”. She said in the special: “I’ve cared far too much what other people think of me. So, the thought of anyone thinking that I’m mean was devastating to me, and it consumed me for a long time.”

However, the employees who recently spoke to the outlet said that her “meanness” does not reflect the serious workplace allegations they raised in 2020. One source said: “There’s a difference between your persona and the way that you were handled in the media versus the culture that you perpetuated which hurt a lot of people.

“She was misrepresenting the narrative and trying to reframe herself as not a bully… She really missed the mark.”

Elsewhere in the special, DeGeneres spoke about her experience of being “kicked out of show business” in 1977, when she came out as gay on her eponymous sitcom Ellen. The star was subjected to backlash, before making a comeback with her talk show series in 2003. 

Another former employee who once respected DeGeneres “as a young person figuring out my sexuality” wished that the talk show host would have more empathy, given the homophobia she previously faced. 

“I have empathy for what she went through back then, and I wish that she could have that empathy now,” the staff member told Rolling Stone. “Especially after all the things she went through, you would think she would try to remember or relate on a human level instead of turning everything into material.”

PinkNews has contacted a representative of Netflix for a comment on the matter.