Australian TV Station Pulls Plug on 'Ellen' Show, First To Cancel Show Amid Toxicity Claims
Like superheroes, television personalities often fall out of favor at some point. There’s an arc to their storyline, and for Ellen, it looks like that arc may be beginning to trend downward.
In March, many potential issues were revealed during a storm of tweets citing examples of DeGeneres’ bad behavior. Many tweeted in response to a challenge issued by Kevin T. Porter.
Right now we all need a little kindness. You know, like Ellen Degeneres always talks about! ?❤️
She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive
Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean & I’ll match every one w/ $2 to @LAFoodBank
— Kevin T. Porter (@KevinTPorter) March 20, 2020
“Right now we all need a little kindness,” Porter tweeted. “You know, like Ellen Degeneres always talks about!”
“She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive. Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean & I’ll match every one w/ $2 to @LAFoodBank.”
The stories flooded in, with hundreds of accounts of DeGeneres’ questionable behavior. But that was just the start.
According to a recent BuzzFeed article, what’s going on behind the scenes of the generally lauded show is in stark contrast to the message DeGeneres preaches.
Former employees allegedly told BuzzFeed that they’d received racist comments, had been fired after taking time off to attend a family funeral and were told not to speak to Ellen if they bumped into her.
“I think it is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the show’s brand,” one former employee explained. “They pull on people’s heartstrings; they do know that’s going to get likes and what people are going to go for, which is a positive message. But that’s not always reality.”
Since 2013, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has aired on Australia’s Channel Nine network, but that came to an end on August 24.
“We are resting Ellen repeats on Nine and have replaced [them] with Desperate Housewives,” a spokesperson for the channel told Fox News in a statement.
While reruns are still on a sister channel, this could be the beginning of a purge.
Last month, DeGeneres apparently addressed the rumors and stated that she has been unaware of at least some of the mistreatment that was going on behind the scenes.
“I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop,” she wrote in the memo, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or – worse – disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.”
Hopefully real change is on the horizon, but whether or not the allegations are true, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” may have simply run its course.
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