Former daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is facing another setback, as a source exclusively tells In Touch she hasn’t made the cut for carrying the Olympic torch through the streets of Los Angeles in 2028 when the city hosts the Summer Games.
“Ellen’s fall from grace has been swift and unforgiving, leading to her exclusion,” the insider says, referring to the comedian, 66, being labelled the “Queen of Mean” after her former talk show’s toxic workplace scandal in 2020.
The source adds, “The decision comes as part of an effort by the Olympic Committee to distance itself from figures embroiled in controversy!”
The Louisiana native ran with the Olympic torch in 2004 when it made its way through a one-day tour of Los Angeles en route to the Summer Games in Athens, Greece. It was the first time the torch travelled internationally on it’s way to its final destination, stopping in every city that had previously hosted a Summer Olympics.
Other stars who got the honor of running with the torch in L.A. included Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise.
At the time, Ellen was quickly headed towards gaining her nickname the “Queen of Nice,” thanks to her “be kind” mantra, after launching her daytime talk show in 2003.
Things took a shocking turn when in a 2020 Buzzfeed News exposé, the outlet talked to nearly a dozen current and former staffers who claimed Ellen and several of her top executives created a toxic work environment behind the scenes.
Ellen proceed to tell her employees that she took responsibility as the show ultimately bore her name, in an email to her crew obtained by The Hollywood Reporter on July 30, 2020.
She promised to “correct the issues” going forward, telling her staff, “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 does not happen again.”
The following month, three longtime executive producers departed the talk show.
Ellen addressed the toxic workplace scandal when kicking off season 18 of her show in September 2020.
“I learned that things happen here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected,” she told her audience during her opening monologue.
“We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter,” Ellen added.
In May 2021, Ellen announced that her upcoming 19th season of her talk show would be her last. After her final episode aired in May 2022, she returned to her comedic roots.
The Finding Nemo star joked about her downfall during her 27-stop Ellen’s Last Stand…Up comedy tour, which kicked off in San Diego, California, on June 19.
“What else can I tell you? Oh, yeah. I got kicked out of show business because I’m mean. You can’t be mean and be in show business. Look it up. No mean people in show business. Yeah. You heard? I was mean,” she explained.
“Everybody heard. I was mean. I know that everywhere I go, everyone has heard that. I’m mean, I know when I walk into a restaurant people are watching and waiting to see if I’ll be mean. ‘Do you think she’ll be mean first and then dance?’” Ellen wondered.
The former sitcom star said the rumor of her being mean “was devastating, adding that “it consumed me for years.” Thankfully time helped her gain “perspective,” and with that she realized the balance between caring what people thought of her “to a certain degree is healthy but not if it affects your mental health,” Ellen told the audience.
