Ellen DeGeneres Slammed by Ex-Staffers for 'Moaning About Health Instead of Apologizing' On Netflix Special: 'It Was All About Her'

Fallen daytime TV star Ellen DeGeneres has been slammed for moaning about her mental health battle after she was canceled for a toxic workplace atmosphere that included bullying and intimidation.

Former staffers have lined up to fire a broadside at her Netflix show For Your Approval, RadarOnline can reveal.

"But if I’m being honest, and I have a choice of people remembering me as someone who was mean or someone who was beloved," DeGeneres said to an audience of fans who attended the taping at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theater, she picked "beloved".

In the show, she made the case for her to be viewed with affection once again.

Former employees say that in the one-hour special, DeGeneres conflates rumors about her unpleasant behavior with more serious allegations, made in the summer of 2020, of racism, sexual misconduct, and intimidation at the talk show

"There's a difference between your persona and the way that you were handled in the media versus the culture that you perpetuated which hurt a lot of people," one former employee said.

"She was misrepresenting the narrative and trying to reframe herself as not a bully … She really missed the mark."

The workers made much of DeGeneres mentioning the toll of cancelation on her mental health considering their own struggles with their mental health while working under her.

One former writer on the show, referring to DeGeneres’ love for pranks where she would intentionally frighten her employees, said: "It is true that she scared people [as a joke], but that’s not always a comfortable workplace to be in where you’re on edge that at some point someone’s going to jump out of your closet and it’s the person that you’re most scared of. I would have nightmares for years after that she would be chasing me, and I wasn’t even involved in that tag game."

The Ellen DeGeneres Show went off the air in 2022 after 19 seasons.

The ex-staffers say the new show evades responsibility for the Ellen DeGeneres Show’s allegedly toxic workplace.

"It feels like it’s manipulative. You’re titling the show For Your Approval, which suggests that you’re trying to guilt the audience into feeling bad for you, and then you’re trying to empower yourself at the same time by saying that you endured all of this hard stuff," an ex-staffer added.

DeGeneres, 66, has said that after this latest Netflix special, she’s taking a step back from Hollywood, although former employees are skeptical this is truly her final foray in the spotlight.

Some also point out the irony in DeGeneres saying she was “kicked out of show business” while being able to share that allegation on a global platform like Netflix.

Back in 2018, DeGeneres reportedly took home $20 million for her first Netflix special, Relatable. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she signed a two-special deal with the streamer at the time, which For Your Approval fulfills.

Another former worker added: "She made millions of dollars doing a Netflix special talking about how she got canceled, but by nature of making millions of dollars to do a Netflix special, you were not silenced.

"You were not kicked out of Hollywood. Most people can’t get Netflix specials."

Yet another ex-worker said of DeGeneres: "Even if [her cancellation] was because she was mean, that is something that she has done to other people, whereas being gay is about her being judged, and it’s interesting that she can’t see it outside of the lens of herself.

"It only exists as either 'it’s happening to me because I am a strong woman' or 'it’s happening to me because I am gay.' It’s impossible that 'these are the consequences for my actions'. That doesn’t even come into her brain that these are consequences."

During the special, DeGeneres discusses her role as a boss and leader on the show despite the fact that she never wanted to be either of those things.

She also details her own recollections of working behind the scenes with her staffers and colleagues, which are all happy and positive.

There was a years-long game of tag, DeGeneres says, as well as constant pranks.

Former employees say even though DeGeneres tries to convince the audience it was a "happy-go-lucky place," that was only a reality for certain staffers.

"The people she liked and the people that she surrounded herself with did have a great time," another former employee added.

"The favoritism was just so blatant and trickled down to the executive producers, producers, and managers. That’s kind of the point, is that the people you’re playing tag with aren’t the people that were being asked to leave the kitchen that they’re eating in so you can walk by."

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.