The possibility that Ellen DeGeneres might not be the nicest person in Hollywood should never have been a complete surprise to any sentient observer of television, famous people or human behavior.
A certain knifelike aspect was always part of DeGeneres's act, made more subliminal over the years by her innate joviality and shrewd branding (the dance moves, the gestures of generosity) but still there all along - evident in the glint of her crystal-blue eyes whenever she makes an ever-so-slightly cutting remark on her syndicated afternoon talk show.
That gleam takes on a maniacal, laser-beam intensity when she presses the button on a trapdoor rigged beneath the anxious contestants of her curiously torturous prime-time game show.
Some viewers understand this aspect of DeGeneres to be an obvious part of the package, that the queen of nice is probably sometimes a queen of ice.
Because, as DeGeneres somberly noted when "Ellen" returned this week for its 18th season on a deliberate and highly watched note of recompense, no person can ever be just one thing.
Suffering in a way that only someone of her status and notoriety can, DeGeneres and her handlers spent the summer in a suspended state of damage control. Long-standing rumours about her backstage demeanour (don't speak directly to her, don't look her in the eye, don't let her smell you - it sounds like the sort of advice the Jeep driver gives before the safari begins) coalesced into workplace grievances, first revealed in two BuzzFeed News stories.
Former employees and industry colleagues began sharing stories about DeGeneres's dark side. WarnerMedia launched an internal investigation; three top "Ellen" producers were fired.
Judging from the first three episodes that aired this week, DeGeneres has looked deep within and ... let herself off the hook, mostly.
Her show remains an unsettled realm of enforced cheer. In no time at all, she was back to rolling her eyes, accepting praise from her guests, and dousing willing participants in pink and purple slime.
"I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who are affected," she said during her closely watched opening monologue on Monday's show.
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