Self-pity a keynote of Ellen’s apology
That Ellen Degeneres might not be the nicest person should never have been a surprise to any sentient observer of television, famous people or human behaviour. A certain knifelike aspect was always part of DeGeneres’s act, made more subliminal by her innate joviality and shrewd branding ( the dance moves, the gestures of generosity), but evident in the glint of her crystal-blue eyes. Some viewers understand the queen of nice is probably sometimes a queen of ice. Because, as Degeneres noted when Ellen returned for its 18th season, no person can ever be just one thing.
Long- standing rumours about her backstage demeanour ( don’t speak directly to her, don’t look her in the eye, don’t let her smell you), coalesced into workplace grievances, first revealed in two Buzzfeed News stories. Former employees and industry colleagues began sharing stories about Degeneres’s dark side. Warnermedia launched an internal investigation; three top Ellen producers were fired. Judging from last week’s first three episodes, Degeneres has looked deep within and ... let herself off the hook, mostly. Her show remains an unsettled realm of enforced cheer. She was back to rolling her eyes, accepting praise from guests, and dousing willing participants in pink and purple slime.
“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 are affected,” she said during her closely watched opening monologue on her season opener last week.
It was a mixed bag of contrition and excuses, with a whiff of legal caution. Her apology rambled from self-reflection into self-pity, casting herself “as the boss of 270 people” (earning somewhere between $ 85 million and $100 million annually), who, “If I ever let someone down, if I’ve ever hurt their feelings, I am so sorry for that. If that’s ever the case, I’ve let myself down and I’ve hurt myself.” One can’t help but note the operative “if” in all this.
To Degeneres’s right is Stephen “twitch” Boss, her longtime DJ and loyal sidekick, who, Degeneres has repeatedly noted, has been promoted to “co-executive producer.”
Degeneres emphasized that she sees her show as an safe haven from the world’s issues and problems, a kinder, gentler wash of the greater world — replete with friends who are former Republican presidents who campaigned against the same- sex marriage Degeneres now enjoys, or expressions of symbolic solidarity with police shooting victim Breonna Taylor. Whether a topic is cute or funny or sad or infuriating, it can all be danced off. Like Oprah Winfrey, Degeneres’s show doles out money to everyday people she says have touched her heart. If you already enjoy Degeneres’s Kool-aid, then all is forgiven.
If something about DeGeneres’s show and this conspicuous charity gives you a moment’s pause, then Ellen is not for you. Ellen might not even be the show for Ellen herself. Sorry not sorry.