Ellen DeGeneres has filmed a ‘new intro’ to her popular chatshow as she continues to film from home.
It comes after the show’s crew slammed the decision to hire a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres broadcast from home, while reducing the salaries of her usual union team by 60per cent amid the coronavirus lockdown.
In her light-hearted new intro to The Ellen DeGeneres show, the 62-year-old is seen running around the manicured, expansive grounds of the mansion she shares with actress wife Portia de Rossi.
Ellen DeGeneres films light-hearted new show intro after being slammed by crew for poor communication amid paycuts
New look: The move comes after the show’s crew slammed the decision to hire a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres broadcast from home
Solo job: Warner Bros reduced the salaries of her usual union team by 60per cent amid the coronavirus lockdown
Light hearted: Posted to her show’s Instagram account, it was captioned: ‘My show is a little different, so I thought I should record a new intro video’
Ellen throws a frisbee into the air then, with noone at the other end, races helplessly to keep up with it. We also see her hitting a tennis ball during a one-person match, and posing for the camera.
Posted to her show’s Instagram account, it was captioned: ‘My show is a little different, so I thought I should record a new intro video.’
The post comes after the Ellen DeGeneres Show’s main stage crew, which is comprised of roughly 30 people, received ‘no communication’ about issues like pay and working hours for over a month, an insider told Variety last week.
To make matters worse, the crew was also ‘furious’ upon learning that the daytime talk show host hired a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres broadcast daily from her home in California.
Having fun: Ellen filmed the video in her large expansive grounds
Smashing good time: Here she takes a swing with a golf putt
Two sources at Ellen’s show, speaking to Variety under conditions of anonymity, said that ‘higher-ups in production would occasionally answer phone calls but reveal little’ about their status.
Crew members finally heard from production executives last week, when they were told to expect a 60per cent pay decrease, even while the show continues airing.
Meanwhile, Ellen herself is said to have a $77million per year contract for her talk show. Her total net worth is estimated to be a whopping $330million.
Sources added that only four of the core crew members are currently working on the remote version of Ellen, according to Variety.
Angry crew: Ellen has been filming from inside her home
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Television made it clear the crew is still getting paid, though confirmed their hours are reduced.
‘Our executive producers and Telepictures are committed to taking care of our staff and crew and have made decisions first and foremost with them in mind.’
Still, insiders speaking to the industry publication claim that for over two weeks, from late March until April 9, the crew were never told how much they would be paid.
Pay slash: Crew members finally heard from production executives last week, when they were told to expect a whopping 60% pay decrease, even while the show continues airing
Reduced: A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Television made it clear the crew is still getting paid, though they confirmed their hours are reduced
During this communication ‘blackout,’ Ellen expanded her at-home broadcasts, going from hosting four shows a week to five, all which were shot over a two-day period at her home.
The show typically films four 10-hour work days per week, but the crew was told on April 10 that they should expect to be paid for just two eight-hour days a week.
At the same time, Ellen hired Key Code Media to produce ‘technical elements’ of the show’s new remote production while her crew members with the same skill set were not working.
A rep for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union said they were of the crew would continue to be paid, but crew members were told to ‘watch closely’ for developments.
Reduced: The show typically films four 10-hour work days per week, but the crew was told on April 10 that they should expect to be paid for just two eight-hour days a week
‘Due to social distancing requirements, technical changes in the way the show is produced had to be made to comply with city ordinances and public health protocols,’ said a WB spokesperson, while clarifying that no Ellen crew member lost their job because of hiring Key Code.
Crew members also added that what was most upsetting was the, ‘lack of personal outreach’ from the show’s leadership during this unprecedented crisis, according to Variety.
Conversely, the crew also learned that crew members on similar shows were being paid, and treated, much more fairly.
Jimmy Kimmel was reportedly paying crew members of his Jimmy Kimmel Live show from his own pocket during the COVID-19 outbreak shutdown, and since they returned to air, ABC began paying their full rates.
Sources claimed that crew members on TNT’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Showtime’s Desus and Mero were also being paid full rates with transparent communication.
Fairly: Conversely, the crew also learned that crew members on similar shows were being paid, and treated, much more fairly
Ellen’s been facing her fair share of backlash recently.
The comic was slammed for being tone deaf after cracking a joke that being home all the time during the coronavirus pandemic was akin to being behind bars.
‘This is like being in jail,’ Ellen told her fans as she sat in a spacious living room with windows opening onto a large plant-filled yard.
‘Mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay,’ she quipped.
Insensitive: She’s joined the ranks of talk show hosts doing episodes from home. But Ellen DeGeneres faced backlash after joking that self-isolating in her mansion was ‘like being in jail’
The response was swift on Twitter.
‘Ellen you quarantining in your mansion in designer sweats is nothing like prison,’ one Twitter user posted.
Another tweeted: ‘What a great look for Ellen as thousands of people sit in actual jail cells just hoping for the best without soap and basic protections.’