Looked a bit like damage control…

Ellen DeGeneres has definitely copped it the past couple of months, being the subject of countless allegations ranging from bullying and abusing staff, to creating a toxic work environment that had been riddled with racism, sexual harassment and other misconduct. She’s been accused of it all, and at one point it was looking like she wouldn’t even be coming back to The Ellen DeGeneres Show. But she’s back, and she’s addressed it all in her new opening monologue for the season 18 premiere.

Talking to a virtual audience at the Ellen Show studio, Ellen opened with saying she takes full responsibility “for what happens at my show” and apologised for everything she’d been accused of.

“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,” DeGeneres said. “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 and 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,” Ellen continued. “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.”

She also announced that the vacant executive producer positions (three of them were fired immediately after allegations surfaced) was being filled by the show’s longtime DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

Not gonna lie, this all kinda looked like damage control, and seemed like Ellen was still sort of shying away from the allegations levelled against her specifically. I mean, the stuff she’s personally accused of is pretty crazy, from making racist remarks to staff to abusing them for the smallest missteps and even the whole “You’re not allowed to look her in the eyes” rumour. There’s plenty more, but it’ll be interesting to see whether the show does in fact change. Only time will tell. Check the full monologue below.