Ellen DeGeneres, who's worth $400 mn, dubbed 'garbage human being' by fans after she threatens crew with 60% pay cut
Ellen DeGeneres has been slammed on social media over reports that her crew members would have to face a 60 percent reduction in pay even though the show continues to air amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The talk show host, 62, has a net worth of $400 million and has incurred the wrath of netizens, who have branded her "very nasty" and "a garbage human being" for not taking care of her employees despite always preaching to be "kind to one another."
"Your staff needs to be paid, they have families and payments. In the real world, not everyone has millions of dollars made off the backs of others! Shame on you!" one user wrote.
"When Ellen says 'be kind to one another' the 'coz I’m not f***** gonna' is silent," a second commented.
"Ellen likes to play this happy/helpful dancing and caring woke lady on TV, but in reality, she's screwing over her crew when they need her most. She's been rumored to be very nasty, sounds like those rumors were true," another wrote.
Meanwhile, a user went on an angry rant against her, writing, "Ellen is just another garbage human being and trash celebrity and the world just needs to get over celebrities already because none of them give a shit about you or their staff/workers."
The comments came following a report that the core crew for 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show,' which consists of more than 30 employees, received no written communication about the status of their working hours, pay, or inquiries about their mental and physical health from producers for over a month.
When they were finally contacted by production executives, they were informed that they would have to brace for a 60 percent reduction in pay.
The crew was further incensed when they learned that the show had recently hired an outside, non-union tech company to help the 62-year-old tape episodes remotely from her mansion in California.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros Television, which distributes the show, has denied the reports and claimed they were committed to looking after their employees. "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," a statement read.
However, the news of Ellen being cutthroat and a less-than-agreeable personality behind the cameras is not new, with the host called "the meanest person alive" in a thread where ex-employees shared their stories about her.
Comedian Chris Farah claimed that she was almost fired from her job because of Ellen. "I worked @RealFoodDaily, served her & [Portia de Rossi] at brunch. She wrote a letter to the owner & complained about my chipped nail polish. Not that it was on her plate but just that it was on my hand. I had worked till closing the night before & this was next morn, almost got me fired," she wrote.
TV writer and actor Benjamin Siemon also claimed that he has heard stories that Ellen is not always the nicest to her talk show co-workers.
"She has a ‘sensitive nose’ so 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," Siemon shared. "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."