Did "50 Shades of Grey" star Dakota Johnson bring down one of the most popular talk show hosts in history?
Well, no - but you might have recently seen a lot of jokes on Twitter that say as much. Ellen DeGeneres's reputation has been on a downward slide since roughly last fall, when, during a particularly awkward interview, DeGeneres accused Johnson of not inviting her to a birthday party and Johnson replied with the now infamous quote, "Actually, no, that's not the truth, Ellen."
But that was just one in a series of controversial incidents surrounding DeGeneres, which culminated in a much more serious way last week after a pair of BuzzFeed articles alleged a toxic work environment on the daily talk show, as well as allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by producers. Warner Bros. launched an internal investigation. DeGeneres sent an email to staff that said she took responsibility as the face of the show, but criticized her employees for not "do[ing] their jobs as they knew I'd want them done." As a result, she wrote, she and the production company will be "taking steps, together, to correct the issues."
If you're curious about how things got to this point, here's a guide to how DeGeneres's public persona went from the "new Queen of Nice" to even fellow celebrities calling her out for treating people "horribly."
- December 2018: The New York Times profile
Even if you don't regularly tune in to the comedian's hugely successful talk show (on the air since 2003), you probably know one thing: She's known for being super nice! Not only is her daily sign-off "be kind to one another," she used to open each episode with some goofy dancing, which endeared millions of viewers to her every afternoon. She frequently gives money and gifts to people in need, and has had many viral segments involving adorable small...

Did "50 Shades of Grey" star Dakota Johnson bring down one of the most popular talk show hosts in history?
Well, no - but you might have recently seen a lot of jokes on Twitter that say as much. Ellen DeGeneres's reputation has been on a downward slide since roughly last fall, when, during a particularly awkward interview, DeGeneres accused Johnson of not inviting her to a birthday party and Johnson replied with the now infamous quote, "Actually, no, that's not the truth, Ellen."
But that was just one in a series of controversial incidents surrounding DeGeneres, which culminated in a much more serious way last week after a pair of BuzzFeed articles alleged a toxic work environment on the daily talk show, as well as allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by producers. Warner Bros. launched an internal investigation. DeGeneres sent an email to staff that said she took responsibility as the face of the show, but criticized her employees for not "do[ing] their jobs as they knew I'd want them done." As a result, she wrote, she and the production company will be "taking steps, together, to correct the issues."
If you're curious about how things got to this point, here's a guide to how DeGeneres's public persona went from the "new Queen of Nice" to even fellow celebrities calling her out for treating people "horribly."
- December 2018: The New York Times profile
Even if you don't regularly tune in to the comedian's hugely successful talk show (on the air since 2003), you probably know one thing: She's known for being super nice! Not only is her daily sign-off "be kind to one another," she used to open each episode with some goofy dancing, which endeared millions of viewers to her every afternoon. She frequently gives money and gifts to people in need, and has had many viral segments involving adorable small...