The Deserved Downfall of Ellen DeGeneres | Internet Anarchist

0:00Alan DeGeneres' career is the perfect example of this saying, what goes around comes around. Even though her on-screen acts of generosity and slogan of be kind created a multi-award winning talk show, Alan's deplorable behavior behind the scenes garnered a reputation so damaging that it would eventually undermine everything she builds. Let me see what else I can tell you about that's been going on. Oh, yeah, I got kicked out of show business. LAUGHTER Yeah. Hi, I'm the insider anarchist. I create weekly YouTube documentaries, and today we'll be delving deep into the world's of downfall of TV's most hated comedian, Alan DeGeneres, how her persona of positivity captivated millions, who Alan was when the cameras were off, and what happened to her career when these two parts of her life inevitably collided. To say Alan had a knack for stand-up comedy would be a gross understatement. Within five years of dropping out of college to pursue comedy, Alan went from working an MC gig at a local pub to winning the award for the funniest female comedian in America

1:02and getting her first television appearance in the popular 80s talk show The Tonight Show. I'm always thinking about these things, because to me life is very precious. It's very special. We're here for such a short time that everything on the surface should have a reason, should have a beneficial purpose. And I feel like everything does, except for please. No. Please do nothing at all beneficial. I always thought at times like this, when we can't figure it out for ourselves, would it be great if we could just pick up the phone and call up God and ask him these things? Just pick up the phone and call up God. Yeah, hi, God. This is Alan. Alan, degenerus. Degenerus. What's so funny? No, I never thought that it does sound like that, doesn't it? Alan's unique perspective on life, deadpan humor and sadonic personality both entertained audience members and built a connection with them. While her stand-up routine was sometimes self-depreciating, Alan always based her jokes on relatable everyday situations, which gave her performance a broad appeal.

2:03This translated into Alan's starring in her own sitcom about a quote neurotic bookstore owner who deals with life through comedy and extensive rambling. Oh my God. What'd you do that for? I can't believe you didn't want to watch this. She's our friend. That's disgusting. Wait a minute, where'd you get this tape anyway? I don't know, by the TV from that box. That's Anita's box. Apparently. You don't smell box. While the series was a hit with fans and received multiple Emmy Awards, ABC canceled it in 1998 following the controversial Puppy episode, which saw Alan become the first openly homosexual lead character on a television show. See the truth. I mean, be who I am. I'm 35 years old. I'm so afraid to tell people. I mean, I just... Susan, I'm gay. Even though she was able to get roles in other TV and to movie productions, Alan's first taste of controversy

3:04left an indelible mark on her career. And the sitcom had been very successful. It wasn't. It went downhill. It did make a difference. Huge. And then you had a very tough time. You couldn't get a job. What was that like? Normally, couldn't get a job. Couldn't get someone to on a phone. I mean, literally, you know, the show was canceled and no one called me. It was just, I found out my assistant read it in the paper. And, you know, I felt sorry for myself. I felt like this isn't fair. I thought people liked me and why did this change anything? And I still am the same person. And, you know, everything felt horrible to me. However, entering the 2000s, Alan's career would get a revival through a voice acting role as Dory in the highly successful animated movie Finding Nemo. Alan's performances Dory positively impacted her career in three distinct ways. One, it reminded odd viewers of what made Alan's comedic style so special. Two, it introduced her to a whole new viewer base.

4:07And three, it's reignited interest in her career from Hollywood executives. By the 8th of September 2003, Alan made her debut as a daytime talk show host with the first episode of The Alan the Generous Show. The cue cards are right there. And you may not think I need cue cards, but every single thing I'm saying is on the cue card. For instance, excuse me, my throat is so dry. Let me show you right here. We have... LAUGHTER While the show followed a standard Hollywood talk show formula, Alan's positivity, upbeat personality, and wholesome interactions with guests and audience members were truly what set her show apart. It's minutes before Showtime, and Alan the Generous is warming up the staff, warming up the people who didn't manage to get a seat

5:08in her studio, warming up for a cell, and finally, warming up the studio audience for the show. From making huge charity donations to giving gifts to our audience, Alan always made her shows a feel-good experience for everyone watching. That's me on the front of this Cheerio's box right there, and here's the big part. If you have a box of Cheerio's under your seat, I'm going to give you a special surprise gift. So check and see if you have a box of Cheerios under your seat. CHEERING All right. So all of you got... Isn't that interesting that what a coincidence all of you would get a box of Cheerios? You're all going to share this gift. It's the biggest gift I've ever given anybody ever. And I hope you continue to pay it forward and share all the good. Hold on to your Cheerios because all of you are splitting $1 million. CHEERING

6:10Making the audience feel good is always good for the ratings. As the Alan the Generous show would run for almost 20 years, drawing millions of viewers per episode, and win 80 plus awards. Combine this with Alan's skillful use of social media to promote a show, and it's no wonder why she was a household name for so long. However, that success wouldn't last forever, as the public perception of the show and its hosts were gradually flipped on its head. As viewers got a closer look behind Alan's mask of positivity. Throughout Alan's time as a talk show host, there has always been a subtle, but consistent, undercurrent of resentment from people who either knew her personally or worked with her professionally. The first major signs of this would come during the 2007 Riders Guild of America strike. At the time, Alan refused to side with her riders by crossing the picket line to continue working on the show. While some saw Alan's decision as a necessary evil to maintain the jobs of the non-writing staff, others saw this choice as a selfish ploy to keep her ratings up. Around this time, one of Alan's former writers

7:11would make a blog post discussing who she really was when the cameras weren't rolling. Would watch her in rehearsals, smiling and winning us over with a charm and comic timing. Then the director would yell cut, her face would fall, and she'll level a glare at the riders. Why do you keep riding these unfunny jokes? I'm disappointed in Alan, but not surprised, given what I've seen from her with my own duise. While these claims wouldn't have much impact on Alan's public image, this entire incident showed the seeds of doubt in viewers' minds and opened the door to skepticism to a trademark act of kindness. At the end of the day, if Alan wasn't willing to show some compassion to the people she worked with, then what she worthy of being deemed as a kind person? By the late 2010s, its suspicion around her kind persona had festered to the point that people were making compilations of, and writing articles about the worst things Alan has ever done, from insensitive jokes about guests' personal lives. We'll show pictures. I don't know how I'm going to do that. Yeah, you will. So the one thing that I have, it's like the one shred of dignity that I have. Ring it on three different guys will narrow it down.

8:12So ring it three different times. So then it's still out there. We still don't know. So let's show some pictures and get it some value. I'll make some people. I don't know what I'm... You're supposed to ring, but I don't want to. I don't want to. I'll ring the soul send me angry emails here. I don't want to get the hold of for you. What are you doing? I'm doing crazy. I'm doing crazy. I'm doing crazy. All right, all right. It's makes me feel so bad about myself every time I come up here, you put like a different dude up there on the screen. To botched acts of charity. Did you know your mom wrote that letter? I knew she entered me for a contest, but I didn't know. Yeah, but that was really sweet of her. Yeah, it's amazing. Okay, so you started college this year. Yeah. Okay, and how... What are you studying? I'm fun. I'm a tough straight now and I want... I'm doing kind of a general ed, but I want to be... I'm like pre-dental. Uh-huh. Yeah. Wow, that's a lot of college. It's a lot. Yeah, how much is tuition? It's like more than $50,000, I get a little bit of financial aid, but... Yeah, crystal...

9:13Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah. And your story is very sweet. And so I talk to my friends at Shutterfly. They want to help pay for... What? What's that? I'm sorry. What does that mean? I just... Okay. So, this is awkward, but so... We're going to give you a computer. I mean... We have a computer. I have a computer, but okay, um, but it's... It's a nighty... Sure. And a nice computer. Users noted every single time Ellen let the mask slip and exposed her true intentions. A particularly a gracious example of this was the infamous gift shop incident. During one of her episodes, Ellen tried to test a trustworthiness of her audience with a gift shop where people could only take one item. When I started the show 14 years ago,

10:13I said, this is going to be like a relationship. And the most important thing, the foundation of a good relationship is say it with me separate thermostats. Oh. And then after that trust, right? Trust is very important. So before the show, I put out some Ellen products with a sign that said only one per person. And, um, I just wanted to see how honest my audience was, you know? Because it turns out you're very honest. Very, very honest. We set up... Really amazing. However, when one individual decided to break that rule, Ellen decided to make an example out of her. I'm ready. Maybe you like this one. Okay. I'm going to go. You like this? I'm going to get the most.

11:16Okay. Then she goes back. And she returns one of her stolen items. As punishment, Ellen would single her out of the crowd and humiliate her in front of everyone. I really, uh, I'm sorry. That's embarrassing and everything. But, you know, let that be a lesson to you. Because you think... You think nobody's watching you and you just need to be a good person just because you want to be a good person. You go sit in that Ellen jail over there right now. No, you're... No, the old steel stuff back there. Come here. This way. What's your sister's name? Anna. All right.

12:17While you could chuck these up to being isolated incidents, it became difficult to ignore Ellen's possible mean streak with the release of an article from the New York Times titled, Ellen DeGeneres is not as nice as you think. The post discussed Ellen's return to stand-up comedy, her struggle between being nice on camera and being a person with a broader spectrum of emotions, and her thoughts about people who didn't think she was a kind person. Reading, that bugs me if someone is saying that. It's an outright lie. The first day I said, the one thing I want is everyone here to be happy and proud of where they work. And if not, don't work here. No one is going to raise their voice or not be grateful. That's the rule to this day. This statement suggested that Ellen's workplace had always been a place that fostered positivity and happiness. Unfortunately, the reality of working with Ellen was about to be revealed as anything but a happy experience. We've all got those habits that just stick, whether it's grabbing a drink to fit in at a party, or reaching for something just because your hands feel empty. For moments like that, Fume, the sponsor of today's video, is a game changer.

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14:18It's all for the show. One former employee taught the Buzzfeed news. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it's for sure. The former employees would also highlight instances of upper management making racist comments, playing favourites, and suppressing complaints of workplace toxicity. I never felt like it was safe to go to my manager when I had issues, because this was the same person who would wait for me to go to the bathroom and then message me asking me where I was and why I wasn't at my desk. Even though Ellen might not be directly responsible for the toxic working conditions surrounding her show, people saw her as the face of talk show positivity and wanted to hold her accountable, especially when it's being relayed to the public as a long-running issue. Had a musket was with Ellen from the beginning in 2003 when the talk show was launched. We were told from the very beginning, don't talk to Ellen, don't do this. You can't go into her office. It was very nerve-wracking, very stressful. We all walked on eggshells all the time. Muscat says, despite Ellen's queen of nice reputation, it became clear early on that it would not be a pleasant place to work.

15:22One incident with executive producer Ed Glaven left her shaken. We were in our production meetings and she would watch Ed go off on people. Ellen would look at Ed and she would laugh, because I was hoping she was going to say, Ed, you can't be yelling at crew this way, you can't be yelling at people this way. She laughed and she said every production needs their dog. Meaning, like, meaning Ed is her dog. Like her attack dog. Her attack dog, so therefore she doesn't need to do that. The claims made by staff only become more compelling when you factor in the viral Twitter thread from Calvin Portner, which mentioned several unpleasant interactions with fans. Ellen had over the years reading, when I was 15, Ellen was doing a contest of fans making a bust of her and sending it to her. I worked so hard on this and even wrote her a letter. Weeks later, she used it as a prop in a game and gave it a way to a random person with $500 attached to the bottom. In response to mounting public outrage, one immediate investigated and fired the three offending executives. Not long after, Ellen sent a memo to her employees addressing the controversy

16:23and trying to salvage the situation. Reading, On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that the Ellen DeGeneres show would be a place of happiness. No one would ever raise their voice and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously something changed, and I'm disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. 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. 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 has not happened again. Staff wouldn't be the only people Ellen apologized to as she addressed her audience in a similarly sympathetic fashion. I'm just so sorry that it's come to this. I really don't know what to say other than this has gone on way way way way too long. People have gotten away with murder and that's what's happening.

17:28So we've got to see fairness and we've got to see justice for all. Because right now this is not a fair world, not at all. Most viewers thought Ellen's vagapology was a hollow PR movement to win back public favor, but that didn't stop it from trying to paint a different narrative. By the start of season 18, Ellen would once again address viewers and reassure them that everything was perfectly fine, despite the opposite being the case. Apology or not, all of the internet's worst fears about Ellen's true motives had come to light.

18:40And none was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, the fact that Ellen had been holding up a facade of happiness for so long meant that she was capable of faking anything and everything. As a result, Ellen's half-hearted apology cost a show over 1 million viewers. And that was only the beginning, as the downward trend would continue for the rest of season 18. Upper management could see the writing on the wall, and by May of 2021, Ellen announced that season 19 would be her last season. And today I have an announcement to make. Today, I am announcing that next season season 19 is going to be my last season. So, the past 18 years, you have to know has changed my life. You all have changed my life. And I am forever grateful to all of you for watching, for laughing, for dancing, sometimes crying. This show has been the greatest experience of my life. And I owe it all to you. When asked about how she felt about the show ending, Ellen would try to play it off and describe it as an emotional experience for everyone.

19:41How did it feel in that moment? To say it today? Yes. You know, emotional. Because I haven't been sleeping. I've been trying to, you know, anticipate how to tell them. And, you know, I hope that everybody would take it okay. And a lot of people were very emotional. I've got emotional. So that was that first step. And then today was the first time telling, you know, everybody else. So it was emotional. However, when pressed about the controversy that spawned her low rating, Ellen would be far less charitable with her words. I don't have to remind you there was an allegation of a toxic workplace. You had to get rid of three top managers here. People went after you personally. Did that have anything to do with this decision? Well, it's certainly, if it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year. Because everything happened. What you're talking about is last summer. And honestly, I really did think about not coming back. Because it, you know, I mean, it was devastating.

20:42It was it because it started with me. It started with attacks on me and attacking everything that I stand for and believe in and built my career around. Like I just, I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy. I am a people pleaser, you know, this is who I am. There must be some truth to it because it's not stopping. We're still, Ellen wouldn't take any accountability and describe the incident as a coordinated attack. I still don't understand it. Yeah, I thought something was going on that, that because it was too orchestrated, it was too coordinated. And, you know, people get picked on, but for four months straight for me and then for, you know, for me to read in the press about a toxic work environment, when all I've ever heard from every guest that comes on the show is what a happy atmosphere this is and how what a happy place it is. Even though Ellen was the face and figurehead of the show, she made it seem like she didn't have full control over on knowledge of the workplace culture. People were thinking, how could you not know? And if you didn't know, should you have it out?

21:44I don't know how I could have known when there's 255 employees here. And there are a lot of different buildings and a lot of different, you know, there's different areas and I delegate. There are bosses to each different area. I am, it is my name on the show. So clearly it affects me and I have to be the one to stand up and say this can't be tolerated. We need to make changes. What can I do? And, you know, I just, unless I literally, you know, stayed here until the last person goes home at night and checked in with 255 people, but I do wish somebody would have come to me and said, hey, something's going on that you should know about. I had no idea. As you'd imagine, known was going to buy Ellen's claims of ignorance with comment is stating, guests talking about a happy atmosphere is very different than the atmosphere of staff working in. As well as, you can treat celebrities on your show with a big smile, welcoming attitude or and respect, but it's the way you treat those who answer the celebrities,

22:45the staff, all the behind the scenes staff that really shows your character. The disconnect was that Ellen saw the controversy as an isolated incident while the audience and staff sought as more of a systematic issue. In reality, Ellen's lack of sympathy, care and concern for employees and fans prove that the show's inspirational and uplifting message was entirely manufactured, only being put at the forefront when the cameras were rolling. What makes this even worse is how these revelations recontextualized the previous rumors about Ellen's behavior. This audience member on the Ellen show is now revealing how she went from thrilled to getting really upset. You just expect a lot when you go to meet like your idol and then when you get disappointed, it's like such a letdown. In 2018, Dana DiMato flew from Chicago to Los Angeles and was delighted to be picked out of the audience to have some fun with Ellen. But then she says she was shocked when she was briefed on the comedy bit by the producers. They tell you, you know, you can't be smarter,

23:45funnier than Ellen. She's the comedian and the star, not you. Ellen's motto is be kind. Be kind to one another. But Dana says Ellen was actually the opposite on the day she visited. How does the Ellen we see on TV compared to the Ellen you saw when the cameras stopped rolling? Totally different. She would only speak to the audience when the cameras were rolling. As soon as they turned the cameras off, she would not even acknowledge the audience. She would just sit on the couch basically. This abrasive pattern of behavior would be on Fordous Blaine Ellen's final comedy special in 2024 dubbed for your approval. Here's the problem. I'm a comedian who got a talk show and I ended the show every day by saying be kind to one another. Had I ended my show by saying go fuck yourself? I thought it was a bad idea. People would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I'm kind. I didn't go into this business for money. It was about healing my childhood wounds. I thought if I could make people happy, then they'll like me. And if they like me, I'll feel good about myself.

24:48And all I can say about that is thank God for the money. From glossing over the toxic workplace experience she created, to making snide comments about the complaints from former fans and co-workers, Ellen did everything in her power to be as insufferable as possible. And viewers weren't going to let it get away with it. The comedy special would review extremely poorly and create another wave of hate towards Ellen. At this point, it didn't seem like Ellen cared about people knowing the truth about her. She had already concluded one of the most prolific talk show runs in television history and could now work on any project she wanted. So it made sense it should completely discard any pretense of positivity. However, in doing so, Ellen also discarded the essence of the show that made her popular and gave her a legacy, which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was all an act from day one.