Ellen DeGeneres Fans Slam Host’s Toxic Workplace Apology During Season 18 Premiere

On Monday, Ellen DeGeneres returned to daytime television to kick off the Season 18 premiere of her popular talk show. However, she dedicated the opening of Monday's "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to apologize following toxic workplace allegations from former and current employees.

Over the summer, BuzzFeed released several accounts DeGeneres’ staff who experienced racism, intimidation, and sexual harassment while working on the show.

Although DeGeneres addressed the rumors surrounding her talk show, viewers were not impressed by her apology.

“Wow. She is [actually] not taking any responsibility at all. Quite literally shifting the blame, & never really addressing how SHE seemed to be the main issue & root of all bad things that went on there. If she wanted to fix the problem, she would've removed HERSELF. Very narcissistic,” one person wrote.

Another person added, “Not watching, don’t care. She has been rude to certain people forever. She needs to reap the words she says ‘be kind to everyone!’ Hear that Ellen? EVERYONE! Not just a select few.”

However, some viewers were not convinced that the talk show host was genuine about her apology.

“Why do you have to joke about something that needed to be serious," the individual wrote. "Treat your staff better and they will treat you the same. It doesn’t always have to be a joke,”

During the premiere, DeGeneres reflected on the allegations and how she plans to change things to create a happy environment for her employees:

“As you may have heard this summer, there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show. And then there was an investigation. 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. I realized that with that comes responsibility and I take responsibility for what happens at my show. This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I am Ellen DeGeneres. My name is there. My name is there. My name is on underwear. We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace and what we want for the future. We have made the necessary changes. And today we are starting a new chapter.”