Ellen DeGeneres Says Toxicity Allegations Seemed 'Orchestrated' & Felt 'Misogynistic'

Ellen DeGeneres is doubling down on why she is leaving her talk show at the end of season 19.

There are rumors that Ellen is leaving because of the rumors that her workplace is toxic.

Click inside to see what Ellen DeGeneres said…

“If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year,” Ellen said on a Thursday morning (May 13) interview on the Today show.. “I really did think about not coming back because it did…it was devastating. I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy. I just kept saying to [wife] Portia [de Rossi], ‘If I was a fan of somebody and even if I loved them, I would think there must be some truth to it, because it’s not stopping.’ Right on the heels of that, I read in the press that there’s a toxic work environment, which I had no idea, never saw anything that would even point to that.”

About the allegations, Ellen said, “I really didn’t understand it. I still don’t understand it. It was too orchestrated. It was too coordinated. People get picked on, but for four months straight, for me, and then 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 what a happy place this is.”

“I don’t know how I could have known when there’s 255 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings, unless I literally stay here until the last person goes home at night,” she added. “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.’ But I do wish somebody would have come to me and said, ‘Hey, something’s going on that you should know about.’”

“How can I be an example of strength and perseverance and power if I give up and run away?” she added. “And so, it really is one of the reasons I came back. I worked really hard on myself. And also, I have to say if nobody else is saying it, it was really interesting because I’m a woman, and it did feel very misogynistic.”

Celebrities did support Ellen when she spoke out about the workplace toxicity.