Actor and comedian Kevin Hart has posted his support towards the chat show host.
In recent weeks, Ellen DeGeneres, her chat show 'The Ellen Show', and a number of her staff, have been put shunted into the public eye for mistreating their staff. Many ex-employees have come forward to speak of being dismissed unfairly, treated differently because of their skin colour, or have been touched or spoken to inappropriately.
Ellen posted an apology letter to her employees which read: "As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or — worse — disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me"
Although DeGeneres has not been named a source of the problem, many have questioned how a TV show bearing her name could create such toxicity without her knowledge. A number of celebrities have spoken out in her defence, including Katy Perry and DeGeneres' wife Portia de Rossi. James Corden has been rumoured to be her replacement.
Hart, a friend of DeGeneres', has now spoken out in support of the host. He posted on his Instagram: "It’s crazy to see my friend go thru what she’s going thru publicly. I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly say that she’s one of the dopest people on the f---ing planet. She has treated my family and my team with love and respect from day 1.
"The internet has become a crazy world of negativity....we are falling in love with people's downfall. It’s honestly sad...When did we get here? I stand by the ones that I know and that I love. Looking forward to the future where we get back to loving one another....this hate s--- has to stop.
"Hopefully, it goes out of style soon.... This post is not meant to disregard the feelings of others and their experiences.... It’s simply to show what my experiences have been with my friend. Love you for life Ellen."
When Kevin Hart stepped down from his post as Oscars host just 48 hours after announcing his involvement on the awards show, Ellen DeGeneres invited the actor onto 'The Ellen Show' to speak of his decision. The incident stemmed from Hart tweeting homophobic words such as "fag" and "homo" from his Twitter account years beforehand.
At the time, DeGeneres tweeted her support for Hart, saying: "I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances."
I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances. And I believe in @KevinHart4real. pic.twitter.com/oJxfGXhU4P
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 4, 2019