Ellen DeGeneres Spends Time with Kevin Hart After Actor Defended Her amid Talk Show Scandal

Ellen DeGeneres is getting some face time with Kevin Hart.

Hart, 41, and DeGeneres, 62, met up for lunch at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, California, over a week after the actor defended his friend as an investigation was launched into multiple allegations about the workplace culture of her daytime talk show.

The pair were pictured wearing tropical-print tops as they spent time together during the outing.

Hart publicly stood by DeGeneres earlier this month, calling her “one of the dopest people on the f—— planet.”

“She has treated my family and team with love and respect from day 1,” he wrote, going on to condemn the backlash DeGeneres has received. “The internet has become a crazy world of negativity… we are falling in love with peoples down fall. It’s honestly sad.”

Hart concluded his post by asserting that his message is “not meant to disregard the feelings of others and their experiences” but to “show what my experiences have been with my friend. Love you for life Ellen.”

DeGeneres has also received support from wife Portia de Rossi, as well as a number of famous pals, including Katy Perry, Ashton Kutcher and Diane Keaton.

DeGeneres stood by Hart last year as the actor stepped away from hosting the 2019 Oscars amid controversy over his past homophobic tweets, for which he later apologized.

At the time, DeGeneres invited the Ride Along star onto her show and revealed that she felt Hart had grown as a person, and that as a member of the LGBTQ community, she accepted his apology.

Warner Bros. previously said in a statement that “dozens of current and former employees” had been interviewed and that they were “disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management.”

Moving forward, Warner Bros. said they have “identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them.”

“Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres are all committed to ensuring a workplace based on respect and inclusion. We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show,” the statement concluded.

The talk show is expected to return to TV next month with DeGeneres returning as host, PEOPLE previously confirmed.