(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Disgraced former host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, a staunch Democrat, has broken her silence about the sudden cancellation of her popular show amid disturbing revelations of alleged harassment by employees.
During a stand-up performance in Los Angeles on Wednesday, DeGeneres sarcastically attributed the cancellation of her eponymous show to being “mean, old, and gay,” according to Rolling Stone.
The magazine reported that DeGeneres jokingly stated that the cancellation of The Ellen DeGeneres Show marked the second time she had faced such scrutiny.
“For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business… Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay,” she sad.
In the 1990s, DeGeneres’s sitcom abruptly ended after she came out as a lesbian. Three decades later, she faced backlash following damning allegations of fostering a toxic work environment where employees endured constant harassment.
Ultimately, three producers were fired, and DeGeneres issued an on-air apology. “As you may have heard this summer, there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show,” DeGeneres acknowledged.
“And I want to say, I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power. And I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show,” she added.
However, the apology failed to quell the backlash and reverse the declining viewership, leading to the show’s cancellation.
Earlier in her stand-up routine, DeGeneres quipped, “What else can I tell you? Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business. There’s no mean people in show business.”
DeGeneres admitted that the widespread criticism had taken a toll on her ego.
“I’m giving stuff away…and I danced, then I was mean and they didn’t like me again,” she said. “It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”
DeGeneres is currently on a mea culpa tour.
In 2017, she urged then-former Vice President Joe Biden to run for president. According to the Media Research Center, DeGeneres donated almost $40,000 to Democratic committees in 2016.
Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama were among the recipients of these donations.
