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Ellen DeGeneres shared how she pranked her staff with 'snakes' — but not everyone was laughing

Ellen DeGeneres orchestrated snake pranks on employees made matter worse to 'toxic workplace' scandal

Ellen DeGeneres, born on January 26, 1958, is one of television’s most recognizable figures due to the success of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show." While her show was known for high-profile celebrity interviews with Priyanka Chopra, Julia Roberts, Justin Bieber, and the renowned Kardashians, it was also infamous for its elaborate pranks—some of which left employees genuinely terrified. One of the most extreme cases involved an employee named Amber, who deeply feared snakes. According to a report by Cracked, DeGeneres revealed during a performance at Radio City Music Hall how she went to great lengths to prank an employee named Amber, who had a fear of snakes. She stated, "So, sometimes before they came into my office, we would hide rubber snakes in a panel in the ceiling, and I had a button that I could push to leave that drop out on top." Again, hearing myself say this…"

This isn't the first time Ellen pulled a prank on her sets, whether it was on celebrities or even her staff. DeGeneres frequently played pranks on executive producer Andy Lassner. In one segment, Ellen asked Tony, "Are you scared of snakes?" Tony replied, "No, I'm not." She goes on to ask, "Andy, you are scared of snakes, right?" And as the producer nodded yes, another member of the crew put a fake snake on his shoulder, capturing Lassner's startled reaction. The moment was shared on the show's YouTube channel. Earlier on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show,' Allison confronted her fear of snakes, but that didn’t stop Ellen from pranking her with a perfectly timed snake scare.

Another segment featured a Halloween-themed scare where Ellen shared her full-fledged planned prank of having snakes unexpectedly fall from the ceiling on Allison, who was widely known on set to have a deep fear of snakes. She took things up a notch by revealing the actual blueprint of the office to the audience, mapping out every detail—from the carefully planned seating arrangement to the strategic placement of snakes and hidden cameras, all set to capture Allison’s ultimate freak-out moment. Ellen confessed, “The only people in on this were Kevin and me.” As the video rolls, tension builds. Then—BAM! Out of nowhere, snakes come raining down from the ceiling right in the middle of a meeting. Allison’s reaction? Absolute terror. She leaps from her seat, eyes wide in shock, and bolts toward the door in a frantic escape, her fear taking over in real time.

In 2020, multiple former employees of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' described their workplace experiences in a report. Per Buzzfeed, a former employee stated, "If [Ellen] 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. That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show.” The employee added further, “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.” 

According to ET Online, DeGeneres issued an apology to her staff in an internal letter that stated, "On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness—no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect," DeGeneres wrote in her letter. "Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show." She also apologized on her first episode of Season 18, stating, "We have had a lot of conversations about the show, about the workplace, and what we want for the future. We have made the necessary changes, and today we start a new chapter."