Daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has found herself embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks as both current and former employees have accused her of turning a blind eye to racism, intimidation, and sexual misconduct on the set of her show. Now, DeGeneres’ wife Portia de Rossi has broken her silence about the situation.
de Rossi, an actress known for starring on “Arrested Development,” posted an image on Instagram of the words, “I stand by Ellen.”
“To all our fans….we see you. Thank you for your support,” de Rossi, 47, wrote in the caption.
This comes as calls are growing for DeGeneres to be “cancelled” over the claims against her that are being made by her current and former staffers. Though DeGeneres has apologized to her employees for their experiences on set, her apology has been widely panned, as she tried to deflect the blame onto others.
“As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again,” DeGeneres wrote in an apology memo obtained by Page Six.
“Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case,” she added. “And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”
Reports have been coming in over the past few days alleging that DeGeneres has “had enough” and wants to quit her show.
“She feels she can’t go on and the only way to recover her personal brand from this is to shut down the show,” an insider at Telepictures told Daily Mail. “The truth is she knew what was going on, it’s her show. The buck stops with her. She can blame every executive under the sun – but Ellen is ultimately the one to blame.”
The source added that executives there are getting tired of DeGeneres as well.
“Inside Telepictures we’ve had enough of her. She is a phony who does not practice what she preaches,” the insider said. “The behavior of her show executives has been appalling, but [Ellen] is no better. In fact, she is the worst. It’s outrageous that she is trying to pretend that this is all a shock to her. The fish rots from the head, and Ellen is the head.”
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