KATHMANDU: American comedian Ellen DeGeneres on September 21 returned to her television talk and apologised to staff over toxic work environment and revealed that changes had been made to start “a new chapter.”

“I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres, 62, said in the opening monologue for the premiere of her show’s18th season, according to Reuters. “I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”

“We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter,” she added.

Reports of a hostile workplace have included criticism that DeGeneres is mean-spirited. These prompted a social media campaign calling for her replacement and public statements of support for the comedian from the likes of Katy Perry, Kevin Hart, Alec Baldwin and Ashton Kutcher, Reuters added.

DeGeneres, who is gay, joked that she was a good actress because she has played straight women. “But I don’t think that I’m that good that I could come out here every day for 17 years and fool you,” Reuters further quoted her as saying of her reputation for kindness.

“I am that person that you see on TV,” she said. “I am also a lot of other things. Sometimes I get sad, I get mad, I get anxious, I get frustrated, I get impatient. And I am working on all of that. I am a work in progress.”