Ellen DeGeneres says personal attacks ‘destroyed’ her: ‘ I’d be lying if I said it didn’t’
"My whole being is about making people happy" says star, as she announces end of talk show
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Warner Bros. Television
Ellen DeGeneres has said personal attacks on her character over the last year “destroyed” her.
The TV veteran’s remarks coincide with news that The Ellen DeGeneres Show is to come to an end next year after 19 seasons.
The move follows allegations last year of a toxic workplace culture on the show, and a claim by comic Kevin T. Porter that Ellen is “notoriously one of the meanest people alive.”
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
Porter’s tweet went viral, with multiple people sharing their stories of frosty interactions with the 63-year-old, including waitress Chris Farah, who alleged Ellen tried to get her fired over chipped nail polish.
“I really believe people should be kind to one another”
Addressing the claims this week, Ellen told the Hollywood Reporter in a new interview: “My whole being is about making people happy. And with the talk show, all I cared about was spreading kindness and compassion, and everything I stand for was being attacked. So, it destroyed me, honestly. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.”
The star added: “[It] makes me really sad that there’s so much joy out there from negativity. It’s a culture now where there are just mean people, and it’s so foreign to me that people get joy out of that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the Ellen star said: “I started saying ‘be kind to one another’ because I really believe people should be kind to one another and so it was easy clickbait to say, ‘Oh, the be kind lady isn’t so kind.’ I am kind. I’m also a woman and I’m a boss.”
The star explained that she’s unsure what she plans to do next, be it movie roles and a return to comedy – but that a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey is in the pipeline.
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