September 2020
Ellen DeGeneres was in news story after news story this summer regarding claims and then an investigation of her show having a toxic work environment. Through a pandemic and highlighted racial injustices in the news, Ellen’s story still managed to make headlines, which tells you how big it really was.
In the world of public relations, this is called a crisis. It’s almost guaranteed that she had the best publicists in the business helping her through it, analyzing every word. At Branded, we work with clients to prepare for and handle a crisis. Ellen addressed this crisis, weeks after it surfaced, during her Season 18 premiere monologue. The entire clip was under 5 minutes. So let’s deconstruct how this crisis was handled. And most importantly, how can you apply her wins to a crisis you may face?
During the actual events, Ellen stayed mostly silent. She put out a short statement to her team, which was released to the press and had an internal video conference call. While we normally advise our clients to publicly address a crisis at the time of the crisis, Ellen had an advantage that most others don’t: she can handle this on her timeline because the press would circle back to it no matter when she addressed it. So she waited.
What did she actually say? Let’s take a look.
“How was everybody’s summer? Good? Mine was great” She started out with humor, which she continued to weave in throughout the apology. This works for her, because that’s her trademark. Plus, as strong as the allegations were against her, it was not as serious as a crime, death, or something that would make humor inappropriate. Still, in most practical cases, we would not suggest to use humor to defuse a serious situation.
“As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations..” Quickly she got to the point of the monologue, to discuss the rumors, investigation and aftermath.
“I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously and I want to say that I am so sorry to the people that were affected…I take responsibility for what happens on my show.” She immediately took the allegations seriously and apologized. She was genuine and sincere with her apology and understood the gravity of the issue.
“We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter.” Ellen didn’t get into too many details of the changes. She didn’t need to because many of them have already been published. She focuses on looking forward and what that will mean for the show.
“I’m a pretty good actress. But I don’t think that I’m that good that I could come out here everyday for seventeen years and fool you. My intention is to always be the best person I can be.” There have been rumors floating around that Ellen has not lived up to her nickname, the ‘be kind’ lady. Since this directly impacts her character, she stood up against these allegations. Ellen admitted she isn’t perfect and acknowledged where she wants to improve, showing that she is ultimately a good person that makes mistakes.
“My hope is that we can still be a place of happiness and joy…I am committed to making this the best season we have ever had.” In conclusion, she is moving forward for her audience, her viewers. She is closing the chapter and hoping to begin the next.
The takeaway is, she didn’t point fingers or push blame on anyone else, she didn’t claim her innocence in the matter or deny the claims. To learn from her, note that she addressed it head-on, was sincere and apologized while claiming responsibility and discussing how she will be moving forward.
Time will tell if she will be forgiven. Based on commentary, press and initial responses, it looks positive.
For more on how Branded can help you be prepared for a crisis, get in touch with us!