A Timeline Of The Disintegration Of Ellen DeGeneres’ Shiny Public Persona

By now, you’ve surely heard that The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Emmy award-winning talk-variety series that launched in 2003, is sitting at a crossroads. This is the result of more than a few controversies over the last couple of years, which have culminated with employees stepping up to accuse Ellen of allowing a toxic workplace environment to flourish. As a result the host — who has preached a “Be Kind” mantra as part of the show’s image — is on the defense as accusations continue to swirl. A handful of celebrity supporters have rallied on her side as others call for her replacement.

Should we really be surprised by the downfall of Ellen’s image This shift didn’t happen overnight, and even if it feels like revelations are coming fast and furious now, Ellen dropped a few hints of her own along the way. Let’s hammer this out, timeline style.

December 4, 2018

In a trailer for her Netflix stand-up special, Relatable, Ellen complained about how she’s unable to do anything that’s considered even mildly rude, like honk her car horn, due to her ultra-nice reputation as the reigning queen of daytime talk TV. This assertion does seem somewhat relatable, given that people apparently expect her to dance with them on the street during fan encounters.

December 12, 2018

During a lengthy profile with The New York Times, Ellen strongly suggested that she’s considering leaving the building and canceling her show within a few years. She admitted wanting to pursue projects that explore more of her own personality or portray “someone unappealing” on a TV show or movie. Ellen also pointedly stated, “The talk show is me, but I’m also playing a character of a talk-show host. There’s a tiny, tiny bit of difference.” Within the profile, Ellen’s wife, Portia de Rossi, signaled that she was ready for her spouse to move onto other challenges.

January 4, 2019

Ellen — who remains one of the most prominent gay celebrities in the U.S. — stirred up controversy by urging Kevin Hart to return as Oscars host following his “choice” to step down after the resurfacing of his homophobic tweets (including calling a Twitter user’s profile picture “a gay billboard for AIDS”). In making this call, Ellen pushed back at the “haters” and described Hart as “one of the smartest people I know.”

May 21, 2019

Despite making those public noises about wanting to move past her talk show, Ellen re-upped her contract for three more years to keep the show going until 2022. While addressing her audience, she joked that this happened “[m]ostly because I love doing it so much every day but also because that takes me to the end of my car lease.”

October 7, 2019

Amid a backlash over being spotted laughing during a Dallas Cowboys game with former President George W. Bush (whose anti-LGBTQ stance included his staunch support for the Defense of Marriage Act), the talk show host defended their friendship in a monologue. In doing so, she argued that “we’re all different,” and just because she differs in viewpoint from Bush, that doesn’t mean they can’t be buds. “When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way that you do,” she argued. “I mean be kind to everyone.”

March 20, 2020

On Twitter, comedian Kevin Porter called Ellen “notoriously one of the meanest people alive” while engaging in some wordplay about how “we all need a little kindness.” He encouraged people to share “insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean” in exchange for his donations to the LA Food Bank. Porter has received thousands of responses to his tweet, and at $2 per pop, that adds up to a huge donation.