Working with Ellen DeGeneres was like being in the movie 'The Devil Wears Prada’, claims former employee
It seems the list of people accusing ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ of toxic work culture is growing by the day, with one more former staffer coming forward with their own share of grievances. The ex-employee of the famous talk show airing since 2003 chose to remain anonymous while sharing their experiences.
Speaking with Brisbane radio show ‘Stav, Abby & Matt’, the former camera assistant compared the environment on the set of the show to the 2006 movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Based on a 2003 novel by the same name, the film starred Anne Hathaway as a college graduate and Meryl Streep as the editor of a fashion magazine. In the movie, Streep has been shown as a ruthless and cynical boss because of whom the work environment always remains tense.
“I worked there for a little over a year. It's kind of like The Devil Wears Prada. Everyone is trying to make it to the [end of a] year. It's just a badge of honor to have that and have it on your résumé,” the ex-staffer said. They also added, “I wasn't even allowed in the same room as her. Most people are told, ‘When Ellen enters the room, you and your entire crew need to leave’. Sometimes her bodyguards come forward first and you kind of see them and you know to leave and that's it.”
These fresh allegations came after the wife of Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, shared an update about her partner. The 47-year-old model-actor told a photographer on August 9 that the comedian is “doing great” despite being in the center of controversy over allegetions of a toxic work environment. When the photographer asked de Rossi whether DeGeneres was planning to continue her namesake show, she responded, “Yes, she is”.
Meanwhile, earlier an ex-producer of ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ made some new shocking revelations. Hedda Muskat, who chose to reveal her identity, told the Australian breakfast program 'Sunrise' that she was “emotionally abused” when she was working for the talk show. She also claimed that she was “fired for no reason” in 2004.
“I was more emotionally abused, fired for no reason... they told me that they were just going to take the show in a different direction. They ended up giving my job to a guy I trained who was about 24 years old and had no experience,” the ex-employee said, adding that DeGeneres’ behavior was poor from the initial days. “When you walk into her office for example, to pitch her your segments, there was always a snarl. I always felt that I was never welcome in her office, she always hurried me, like 'get to the point, get to the point’,” Muskat explained.
The former employee claimed that once she took her daughter to the set because she wanted to introduce her to DeGeneres, but the gesture was met with a rebuff. “She just snarled again, walked by and I was flabbergasted, she didn't even make eye contact. I was told later to no longer bring my daughter to work... I was told... ‘she doesn't want kids in the office’,” Muskat added.