Ellen DeGeneres spent her Saturday with pal Kevin Hart. The two were spotted having lunch together about two weeks after Hart spoke out in defense of DeGeneres amid her workplace investigation.
DeGeneres, 62, and Hart, 41, were photographed enjoying lunch and a glass of wine at the Rosewood Miramar beach resort in Montecito, California. The daytime talk show host has a home nearby, while Hart appears to be spending some time in the Santa Barbara area with his family as his wife, Eniko, prepares to give birth.
Hart expressed support for DeGeneres in a heartfelt post on Instagram on Aug. 4.
“It’s crazy to see my friend go thru what she’s going thru publicly,” he said. “I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly say that she’s one of the dopest people on the f**king planet. She has treated my family and my team with love and respect from day 1.”
“The internet has become a crazy world of negativity….we are falling in love with peoples down fall. It’s honestly sad…When did we get here?” he asked. “I stand by the ones that I know and that I love. Looking forward to the future where we get back to loving one another….this hate sh*t has to stop. Hopefully it goes out of style soon.”
Hart concluded, “This post is not meant to disregard the feelings of others and their experiences….It’s simply to show what my experiences have been with my friend. Love you for life Ellen.”
DeGeneres notably had Hart’s back after he stepped down as host of the Oscars last year, following controversial tweets which resurfaced from nearly a decade prior. DeGeneres invited Hart on her show to explain his decision and offered him her support, sharing that she’d asked the Academy to take him back as host. The talk show host then found herself in the hot seat, receiving backlash from fans for her defense of Hart.
As 360aproko previously reported, Warner Bros. Television sent an internal memo to staffers last month, informing them that WarnerMedia would be seeking the services of an independent third-party firm to interview current and former employees about their experiences behind the scenes on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after one current and 10 former employees anonymously spoke with BuzzFeed News about their negative experiences working on the program.
In an internal letter sent to show staff, which was obtained by 360aproko, DeGeneres apologized and affirmed that she was committed to “having conversations about fairness and justice.”
360aproko learned that a virtual staff meeting was held to update show employees on the investigation into alleged workplace misconduct.
