Ellen DeGeneres' A-list friends won't defend her as racism and 'toxic workplace' complains rise against host
Although Ellen DeGeneres has an impressive list of uber-famous friends in the entertainment industry, including the likes of former first lady Michelle Obama and legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey, none of them have come forward to speak in her defense after the comedian was tagged as 'mean' spirited and there were fresh allegations against her show having had created a toxic work atmosphere for their staff in the past.
“Ellen has gained a reputation as a friend to the stars, but A-listers would have to take great risks to publicly defend the show. The explosion of the #MeToo movement has really shone a light on workplace conduct in Hollywood. Studios are under pressure to change the culture,'' an insider told the Sun.
'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' has become the subject of an internal investigation by WarnerMedia following numerous accounts of workplace problems, as per a Variety report. Executives from producer Telepictures and distributor Warner Bros. Television sent a memo to staffers last week saying they have engaged WBTV-owner WarnerMedia’s employee relations group and a third-party firm after the working conditions at the show were exposed. In April, a Variety story highlighted the treatment of crew members during the coronavirus lockdown and in mid-July, BuzzFeed's full-blown report cast light on the rampant racism and intimidation on the show.
As per reports, the memo came from the desks of Telepictures executive vice president Donna Redier Linsk and WBTV vice president of human resources Donna Hancock Husband. Meanwhile, a third-party consultant is also involved but the name isn't clear as of now.
We reported earlier that at least 10 former staff members and one current employee of Ellen DeGeneres' talk show spoke to Buzzfeed anonymously and claimed that the show's mantra "Be Kind" was only for the TV. "That 'be kind' bulls**t only happens when the cameras are on. It's all for show. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it's for show," one former employee said.
Though most ex-employees made no specific claims against DeGeneres and blamed executive producers and other senior managers for the toxic work culture, one former staffer said that at the end of the day, it is Ellen's name on the show. "She really needs to take more responsibility. If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what's going on. I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, 'Things are going great, everybody's happy', and she just believes that but it's her responsibility to go beyond that," the unnamed staff told the outlet.
In a joint statement, executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner said they take the stories of the employees “very seriously”. They added: “Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1,000 staff members, we have strived to 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. It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be and not the mission Ellen has set for us.”