Ellen DeGeneres Said She "Hated The Way" That "The Ellen Show" Ended Following Claims Of A Toxic Work Environment

It seems like Ellen DeGeneres is planning a return to the limelight, but first, she's taking the time to reflect on her past.

As I'm sure you'll know, Ellen's been laying low since the end of her talk show in 2022, two years after a series of BuzzFeed News reports brought to light allegations of a toxic work environment behind the scenes.

The allegations prompted an internal investigation by WarnerMedia, and within days of the initial report's publication, Ellen had issued a formal apology to workers, vowing that she and her fellow execs were "taking steps to correct" the "issues" that had been brought to her attention.

Since the show's final episode in 2022, Ellen has kept a relatively low profile. But now she appears to be gearing up for a career comeback, starting with a new comedy standup show, premiering for a sold-out audience in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening.

According to Rolling Stone, the former host wasted no time before addressing the controversy surrounding the end of her show, recalling that she "got kicked out of show business" because "there's no mean people in show business."

Talking directly about the alleged misconduct under her leadership at The Ellen Show, the 66-year-old seemingly sought to defend her failures by admitting that she "didn't know how to be a boss."

At various points throughout the set, Ellen apparently made reference to the fact that "this is the second time [she's] been kicked out of show business," recalling the cancelation of her '90s sitcom, Ellen, after she came out as gay.

Bearing this in mind, she described how The Ellen Show helped her regain viewers' affection in the early 2000s before they turned on her again in 2020 when she was exposed for being "mean."

After her standup routine was finished, Ellen hosted a short Q&A session with the audience, which led her to discuss how the scandal impacted her marriage to Portia de Rossi, her wife of 16 years.

Another fan inquired as to whether her first brush with cancelation in the '90s made it easier for her to cope when the toxic workplace allegations made headlines in 2020. In response, Ellen said the recent experience was "a whole different thing."

Finally, after keeping most of her comments about the controversy fairly light-hearted, Ellen emphasized how deeply it impacted her, saying: "Honestly, I'm making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating, really."