Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Ellen DeGeneres used her opening monologue of the new season of her daytime talk show to address allegations of a toxic work environment, apologizing for things “that never should have happened.” “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,” she said in a video posted Monday.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” started its 18th season in Los Angeles with the host on stage for the first time in months after taping from DeGeneres’s home during quarantine. “We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace and what we want for the future,” she 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. The host also addressed the allegations that the off-camera DeGeneres is very different from her sunny on-air persona. “The truth is I am that person that you see on TV,” she said. An internal company investigation of work conditions was prompted by a BuzzFeed News report in July based on 36 interviews with ex-staffers, who complained about or said they witnessed improper and unfair treatment. The people making the claims were not identified.
■ Regina King and Uzo Aduba used the comeas-you-are fashion edict for Sunday’s virtual Emmy Awards to highlight the national struggle for social justice. Both Black actresses wore T-shirts featuring Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT from Louisville, Ky., who was shot and killed by police in March. “The cops still haven’t been held accountable,” King said in a Zoom session with media. “She represents just decades, hundreds of years of violence against Black bodies. Wearing Breonna’s likeness and representing her and her family and the stories that we were exploring, presenting and holding a mirror up to on ‘Watchmen,’ it felt appropriate to represent with Breonna Taylor.” King won for actress in a limited series or a TV movie as a masked hero in HBO’s “Watchmen.” Aduba wore a black T-shirt with Taylor’s name in gold. King and Aduba were pleased to see each other’s fashion choice. “I loved when I saw her shirt and standing in it with such strength and power, which we all know she has,” said Aduba, winner for supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie for “Mrs. America” in which she played Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Aduba said she wanted to give a boost to the demands for social justice that have swept the nation this year. “I would be remiss not to bring in some of what is happening outside in the streets and the experiences of so many who look like myself,” Aduba told reporters via Zoom.