Ellen DeGeneres’ employees are said to be ‘loving’ people coming forward following reports of a ‘toxic work environment’ on her hit talk show
- Staff on The Ellen DeGeneres show are said to be ‘loving’ the fallout following reports of a ‘toxic environment’ behind-the-scenes
- UsWeekly reports that employees are rallying together in the wake of a bombshell article that claimed to speak to 11 anonymous workers from the show
- A source tells the outlet: ‘They’re loving that the truth – which has been an open secret for years in the industry – is finally receiving more interest’
- Ellen, 62, has been facing multiple reports of alleged bad behavior over the past few months, despite her kind-hearted image on the talk show
Members of staff on The Ellen DeGeneres show are reportedly ‘loving’ that people are coming forward amid claims there is a ‘toxic working environment’ on the show.
Last week, Buzzfeed published a damning report of the hit show, claiming to speak to anonymous workers – one currently still working there – who had been mistreated either by Ellen, 62, or her producers, and now a Wednesday report by UsWeekly claims the scandal is uniting staff behind-the-scenes.
‘They’ve been calling and texting each other about the story,’ a source claims to the publication. ‘They’re loving that the truth – which has been an open secret for years in the industry – is finally receiving more interest.’
Embattled: Ellen DeGeneres – pictured earlier this filming an at-home version of her show – has been faced with reports of bad behavior by current and former staffers
Buzzfeed’s bobmshell article spoke to 11 people associated with the show, that made claims of them facing racism, fear and intimidation while working on the syndicated series.
Responding to that particular report, executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner issued a joint statement, saying they ‘strive create an open, safe and inclusive work environment.’
‘We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience,’ the statement added.
Happy face: Ellen is known for her kind-hearted gestures on her daytime talk-show
Earlier this month, reps for the show were forced to deny reports that show was on the verge of being cancelled. ‘Telepictures can confirm it’s untrue,’ reps for the talk show host’s production company told the New York Post.
DeGeneres has continued to broadcast her daytime show – which she’s been doing since 2003 – from her living room of the Santa Barbara, California mansion she shares with wife Portia De Rossi, 47.
She has been increasingly slammed on social media after multiple reports surfaced in April painting an uncomfortable picture of the way she treats others when the cameras aren’t rolling.
A group of around 30 crew members were upset after she hired an outside company called Key Code Media to film the shows, and also rankled at what they called a lack of communication or transparency about their jobs following the March shutdown amid the coronavirus outbreak, Variety reported in April.
Weathering the storm: The host has been doing her best to carry on as normal filming the show from home, which backfired when it was claimed she had hired a non-union crew to help out
‘Higher-ups in production would occasionally answer phone calls but reveal little’ to the crew members, who had their pay slashed by 40 percent amid changes brought about by the virus, insiders told the outlet.
Sources told the outlet that this was not the case with all the shows, as crews for John Oliver, Desus and Mero and Samantha Bee were paid their full rates, while Jimmy Kimmel dipped into his own pocket for a time to keep his staff getting their regular rates.
Producers responded that ‘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.’
Her character also came under fire after a series of tweets from comic Kevin T. Porter March 20 asking his followers to post ‘insane’ tales of ‘Ellen being mean’ caught the attention of social media. (Porter’s effort was linked to a charity drive for the Los Angeles Food Bank.)
Host with the most… complaints: Ellen, 62, has been facing a barrage of criticism lately for alleged bad behavior on her show
Writer Ben Simeon said that ‘a new staff member was told, “Every day she picks someone different to really hate. It’s not your fault, just suck it up for the day and she’ll be mean to someone else the next day.” They didn’t believe it, but it ended up being entirely true.’
‘Everyone must chew gum from a bowl outside her office before talking to her and if she thinks you smell that day you have to go home and shower.’
Ellen – who Forbes reported is worth around $330 million – has also caught flak for tone deafness after joking that locking down in her opulent mansion was ‘like being in jail.’