Ellen's 18th Season Opens With an Apology

'I am so sorry to the people who were affected'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 21, 2020 10:35 AM CDT

Ellen DeGeneres used her opening monologue of the new season of her talk show to address a summer of controversy and issue an apology, reports the AP. Watch it here. The key part of the apology, as quoted by BuzzFeed:

  • "As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show, and then there was an investigation," she said. "I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously, 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 realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”

The Ellen DeGeneres Show started its 18th season in Los Angeles with the host onstage for the first time in months. There wasn't a studio audience but a virtual one, with faces beamed in on monitors put in the audience seats. "We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace, and what we want for the future," DeGeneres said. "We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter." Three of the show's producers exited over the summer amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior, including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks. (Ellen's initial apology over all this didn't go over too well.)

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