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In recent months, Ellen DeGeneres and her long-running talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show have been embroiled in scandal. There have been accusations of nasty attitudes, a toxic work environment, bullying, racism, and everything in between.

As more people connected to the show and DeGeneres came forward, the 62-year-old addressed the allegations promising to do better. Unfortunately, it looks like DeGeneres’ reputation might be permanently damaged.

According to reports, DeGeneres has been unable to win back fans as her show ratings continue to drop.

Ellen DeGeneres attends the UK Premiere of "Finding Dory" at Odeon Leicester Square on July 10, 2016 in London, England.
Ellen DeGeneres attends the UK Premiere of “Finding Dory” at Odeon Leicester Square on July 10, 2016 in London, England. | Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres has been in the middle of a media firestorm

While everyone was grappling with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, current employees, former employees, and guests of DeGeneres came forward to accuse the host of fostering a toxic work environment. This began when crew members alleged she’d abandoned them amid the pandemic without pay or notice.

Though she has built her brand on kindness, rumors swirled that DeGeneres was a real-life mean girl. “They pull on people’s heartstrings; they do know that’s going to get likes and what people are going to go for, which is a positive message, but that’s not always reality,” a former employee told BuzzFeed News.

Ellen DeGeneres has apologized and promised to do better

With more and more people coming forward with allegations of toxicity, DeGeneres and her producers addressed the claims. DeGeneres released a statement on July 30, 2020. She stated,

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.

Then on her season premiere, she confronted the issue once again. “I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,” she 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 realize that with that comes responsibility and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”

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‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s ratings are still dropping

Though DeGeneres has addressed the allegations of a toxic work environment, it looks like she’s been unable to win back the loyal fans that have stuck with her throughout the years.

According to USA Today, the ratings are not looking good for DeGeneres. They are reporting that the ratings for Ellen‘s premiere week dropped 38% from last year. Also, the average viewership for the talk show is way down from 2.67 million to 1.66 million.

This is not great especially since the season premiere of Ellen on Sept. 21 earned the comedian her highest season premiere ratings since 2016 and a top rating in the key adults 25-54 demographic.

Unfortunately, it looks like no one was all that impressed with her apology.

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