Ellen DeGeneres is addressing the toxic workplace scandal that accompanied the end of her long-running talk show. “I got kicked out of show business. There’s no mean people in show business,” DeGeneres said at a recent stand-up show in Los Angeles. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps.” After the 2020 toxic workplace allegations, DeGeneres publicly apologized. Then, two years later, she concluded her show after 19 seasons, which took “such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem,” she admitted.
But the comedian is trying not to be bitter. “Honestly, I’m making jokes about what happened to me but it was devastating, really,” she said. “I just hated the way the show ended. I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”