Is Ellen DeGeneres mean? Is her show toxic? For weeks now, these questions have become more intensely debated, especially since the host's own friends have stepped up to defend her.

Friends and staff have weighed in -- albeit from two opposite sides. Now, Ellen's ex-girlfriend Anne Heche joined the fray.

Her views on the matter, naturally, cannot be undermined even if they had broken up and moved on with their lives. After all, four years of relationship cannot just be poured down the drain. Heche's opinion matters since she knows Ellen well. 

Before Ellen and Portia De Rossi met in 2004 and fell in love, the comedian was in a rock-solid relationship with Anne. They were one of the most famous and open LGBTQ+ couples in the world, so their split also became the subject of tabloid scandals (wherein both lost their jobs as a result).

Anne Speaks Out on Toxic Claims vs. Ellen

Now, Anne is using those four years of being Ellen's close confidante and lover as her basis to weigh in on the toxic workplace issue the TV host if facing. It is the only thing Heche got since she and DeGeneres have not interacted with each other for years, even though she had been hearing things.

Acording to her, although her relationship with Ellen is a beautiful chapter of her life that she is proud of, she cannot disqualify the complaints against her ex-girlfriend. For her, Ellen is still responsible for the toxicity in her workplace, whether she participated in it or not. 

She hinted that if Ellen truly hates racism and toxicity, she would have addressed those issues herself. The fact that she has turned a blind eye may mean something is hindering her from taking action about it. 

"If I'm standing someplace and I don't like what's going on there, and I stay there, it's my fault," said Heche, "So what are the actions that got me there and why can't I get out of it easily if that's not something that I want to be engaged in?"

"Ellen is standing where she walks, and that is hers to continue that journey," she concluded.

Ellen DeGeneres' Split With Anne Heche

It can be remembered that their love story ended abruptly. They told the press that it was an amicable thing, even though people still could not understand it. After all, just weeks before they announced the split, they were already spotted house hunting. 

One reason can be because Ellen DeGeneres just came out at the time and was not ready to be hailed as an open lesbian. She said so as much.

Ellen told Los Angeles Times in 2001 that she was reluctant to hold hands but felt compelled to because there was a stance that she wished to uphold, which is that members of the LGBTQ+ community should have the freedom to express their love. While she believes that with her heart, she cannot quite get used to it at first. 

At present, if Anne looked back on those years with pride and fondness, Ellen seemed to look at these years with disdain. DeGeneres said she was a different person when she was dating Heche, and if she is the person she is now, she would not be attracted to her.

READ MORE: Ellen DeGeneres So Over 'Mean' Scandals, 'Inside Job Burglary', Moving On