It took a tepid response to nationwide protests, public knowledge of the mistreatment of show staff, and persistent rumors of bad behavior, but Ellen DeGeneres is finally ready to change. Better late than never? On her June 4 Ellen episode, the host admitted that she could’ve done more to initially support the Black Lives Matter movement, which she acknowledged with a now-deleted tweet that read, in part, “for things to change, things must change.” DeGeneres is now “so sad and so angry” that she received criticism for her language, as she “always” stood for equality throughout her career. “I like to think that I’m doing my best, but I think it’s time that we have to look at ourselves and we have to say we have not done enough,” she explained. “I want to learn how to be a better person, how to do better. I was the dancing lady for a little while and now I want to help educate my audience. I want to educate myself.”
“I’m just so sorry that it’s come to this. I don’t know what to say other than this has gone on way, way, way too long,” she added. “People have gotten away with murder and that’s what’s happening.” While DeGeneres hasn’t gone out to protest in her native Los Angeles, she said that she stands with the protesters and considers herself an ally fighting for change. “As a white person, I don’t always know what to say,” she explained. “I think right now white people have to just sit in our discomfort and we have to admit there’s a lot we don’t know about black people’s lives and about a black person’s experience. There is horrible injustice towards black people that has been ignored for far too long.” We wonder how Dakota Johnson feels about this.
