Ellen DeGeneres has revealed that she spent time in therapy to deal with the “hate” she felt following allegations that she created a toxic work environment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The former TV presenter, 66, didn’t shy away from addressing the scandal surrounding her eponymous series in her new Netflix special For Your Approval, which was released worldwide on Tuesday.
Not only did Ellen joke that she was “kicked out of show business,” she also admitted that she sought professional help in an attempt to understand why everyone “hated” her.
In the last special of her career, she said: ‘I went to therapy for a while to learn how to deal with all the hate that came my way.
‘It was not a usual situation for a therapist.
Ellen DeGeneres spent some time in therapy to deal with all the “hate” she faced because of the scandal surrounding her talk show
The former TV host made the confession in her new Netflix comedy special, For Your Approval
‘At one point my therapist said, “Ellen, how do you get the idea that everyone hates you?”
And I said, “Well, New York Times, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, I believe Elmo said something recently on an episode of Sesame Street.”
“She said, ‘Well, I think you should just avoid the news, just avoid the media.’ I said, ‘I do. I don’t watch anything.’”
“But I always knew when something was going on because I would get messages from friends saying they were thinking of me or sending me love.”
Ellen’s troubles began when comedian Kevin T Porter took to Twitter in March 2020 to search for the “most insane stories you’ve ever heard about Ellen.”
It garnered 2,600 responses and led to a BuzzFeed News exposé four months later, which alleged racism, workplace bullying and sexual harassment by one current and ten former employees of her eponymous talk show.
In August 2020, WarnerMedia launched an internal investigation, Ellen formally apologized to its 255 employees, and executive producers Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman were all fired from the show.
Ellen said she was not in an ‘everyday situation that a therapist deals with’
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended in May 2022 after 19 seasons
In September 2022, Ellen addressed allegations of misconduct behind the scenes of the show.
During an opening monologue, she said, “My intention is to always be the best person I can be. And if I’ve ever let anyone down, if I’ve ever hurt their feelings, I’m so sorry.
‘If that ever happens, I’ve let myself down and hurt myself too, because I’m always trying to grow as a person.
“I look at everything that comes into my life as an opportunity to learn. I got into this business to make people laugh and feel good — that’s my favorite thing to do. That and Jenga, I love that game.
“And now I’m the boss of 270 people, 270 people who have helped make this show what it is, 270 people that I’m so grateful for. All I want is for every single one of them to be happy and proud to work here.”
After 19 seasons, Ellen aired her final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 26, 2022, and has largely stayed out of the spotlight since then.
Elsewhere in her comedy special, Ellen joked about her downfall in Hollywood.
She said, “Let me give you an update on what’s happened since you last saw me. I decided to do some gardening, I got chickens…
“Let me see… what else can I tell you about what’s going on?”
Pretending to consult her notes, she added, “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business!”
“The ‘be nice’ girl wasn’t nice — that was the headline. Here’s the thing: I’m a comedian who got a talk show and I ended the show every day saying, ‘Be nice to each other.’
“If I had ended my show by saying, ‘Go fuck yourself,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out that I’m a nice person.”
She continued: ‘Most women are not raised with confidence.
“We’re too shy, and that’s why you rarely see a woman playing air guitar.”
She joked that she got into show business to “heal my childhood wounds” rather than to make money, adding: “I thought, if I can make people happy, they’ll like me.”
“And if they like me, I feel good about myself. And all I can say about that is, Thank God for the money!”