Ellen DeGeneres Financial Crisis? Host Sells $10 Million Worth of Art
Is Ellen DeGeneres facing financial crisis despite her return on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show?"
According to Bloomberg, the 62-year-old Emmy-awarding host quietly sold some of the artworks from her extensive collection.
This included a flock of sheep sculpture by French artist Francios-Xavier Lalanne, which are priced at about $500,000 to $1 million each.
Some of the sheep have already been sold, as per Bloomberg.
The "Finding Dory" star is also selling a mobile sculpture by Alexander Calder and an artwork on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Currently, DeGeneres' collectible artworks are being sold privately in the East Hampton, with the Basquiat presently being sold through Van de Weghe Fine Art in New York City.
DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, have been buying and selling artworks for more than ten years.
Two years ago, de Rossi started an art business to create prints based on a painting she purchased.
Ellen DeGeneres selling her expensive collection, came after a difficult moment for the star.
In July, Buzzfeed News reported that "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" current and former employees said they had encountered racism, harassment, and bullying from the managers.
Last month, three of its top executive producers were fired following a third-party investigation.
On Monday, as she returned to her show after a scandal-clad summer, DeGeneres said in her opening monologue, "As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show."
"And then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take it very seriously."
Her statement in the first few minutes of her premiere is where she addressed the allegations of mistreatment and misconduct behind the scenes.
Following her speech, an insider revealed to People magazine that DeGeneres reportedly poured her heart into her message.
They claim, "She didn't hold anything back. It was poignant and funny and very much a candid take on what happened over the summer."
They added, "She understands her audience wants to hear from her and was looking forward to talking directly to them on Monday."
Meanwhile, viewers and critics were thoroughly unimpressed with her TV apology.
One Twitter user said that Ellen DeGeneres' apology is a summary of, "1) I had no idea the place and people I go to who work for me were in a toxic environment.
2) I'm not good enough for an actor to fake nice.
3) I'm taking this so seriously I'm throwing in a bunch of jokes so my audience will validate I'm a good person."
Another person said, "Ellen's apology made no sense to me because she seems to base it on the idea that people mistake impatience, sadness, and bad moods for being unkind. That's not really how it works."
While it was expected the first show of the series would get more viewers than usual because of the scandal, Ellen DeGeneres' ratings seem on par with last year.
The season premiere of "The Ellen DeGeneres" scored a 1.9 Nielsen household rating, the same number as last year, according to Variety.
READ MORE: 'Riverdale' Star KJ Apa Reveals How They Prepare for Kissing Scenes Amid COVID
