Ellen DeGeneres was unapologetic as she addressed the controversy which led her to exit the entertainment two years ago.
During Monday’s show of “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour in Santa Rosa, California, SFGATE reported that the comedian openly balked at the idea that she’s a cruel person, telling audiences, “I am many things, but I am not mean.”
DeGeneres’ reputation for being mean made headlines in 2020, after BuzzFeed News published a report featuring the accounts of nearly a dozen current and former employees who anonymously accused the former talk show host of fostering a toxic work environment on the set of her eponymous daytime series.
Undermining her public motto of “be kind,” DeGeneres and executives on the show were accused of regularly making inappropriate comments about employees’ race, firing staff for taking medical leave and creating a general culture of fear at the workplace.
In the fallout, the “Finding Nemo” voice talent made a public apology, and in May 2021, she announced “The Ellen DeGeneres” would be ending after its 19th season.