I’m not sure what to think about Ellen Degeneres.
I don’t watch her talk show. I’ve probably seen it a handful of times over the past 17 years, or however long she’s been on.
However, when she was a young comedian, I tried to catch her act on TV whenever I was able. That’s when she was funniest, when she was young, and on the circuit. I remember seeing her on Johnny Carson, the night she made her big break. There were a few early specials on HBO and such. She was hilarious then.
Her attempts at movies and TV proved not to be her best path though. She was not very convincing as a straight woman, and no one wanted to see her in a lesbian role. Not back then. This was all before she came out. Coming out. The population estimates for LGBT are about 5% of the American people. One in twenty. Sometimes it is very hard to come out.
Anyway, a lot of people tune in to see her daytime show. I mean, if you are on the air for 17 years, someone is watching. She’s been wildly successful and she’s extremely wealthy as a result. Even though I don’t watch the show, I am aware that she “helps” people a lot, with money matters, homes, education, those sorts of things. She seems extremely generous, whether she is paying for those items or not.
Of course, for the past week or so, the headlines have been blazing about the “toxicity” of the environment on her show. It has been “rumored” for years that she can be a bit of a wench to work for. Now, these claims about her show seem to be coming from all directions. There have been something like 50 employees purporting incidents, and now celebrity guests are confirming these happenings too.
She apologized, and even that was scrutinized.
I wasn’t there, so I can’t say one way or the other.
Here’s what I know about my own life. It hasn’t happened in quite some time, but there have been a couple of occasions that come to mind, when I was falsely accused of something. The accusations were completely absurd.
But the assertions bothered me substantially at the time(s). I can remember being utterly preoccupied with the hope that people knew the truth. Of course, the misinformation faded away eventually. That was 30 years ago, and I’m probably the only one who still remembers.
Back to Ellen. She’s talking about walking away from the show. Personally, I think she’s probably tired. Tired of always being in the spotlight, tired of the scrutiny, the gossip, the chatter. And now this.
I don’t really have an opinion, one way or the other. I simply know it isn’t my job to pass judgment on her, especially since I don’t have any knowledge of the true facts around the situation. Yet, I’ve never seen a videotape, or audio recording, of her berating someone, or making racist claims, or hammering down.
I’ve certainly never seen a video of her saying that it is okay to grab a woman’s pussy, such as the one that belongs to our 45th president. Or the other video where Trump applauds members of white supremacy groups, saying they are “good people.” No. That would be enough to pass judgment.
===========
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
― Margaret Mead
===========
“How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, Wives and Daughters
============
“Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.”
― Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Complete Works of Alfred Tennyson
==============
