The Ellen DeGeneres Show Is Under Investigation Amid Toxic Work Environment Claims

Photo credit: Brooks Kraft - Getty Images
Photo credit: Brooks Kraft - Getty Images

From Good Housekeeping


Looks like an internal investigation is finally being conducted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show following multiple allegations of the work environment being completely toxic. Variety reports that WarnerMedia is investigating the show, and apparently last week executives from Telepictures and Warner Bros. Television sent a memo to staff saying a third party firm would "interview current and former staffers about their experiences on set."

This news comes after 10 former employees and one current employee spoke anonymously to BuzzFeed News, saying they've faced microaggressions and racism on a show that is full of favoritism from executive producers. (Read more about the allegations here—the set sounds toxic to say the least.)

"People focus on rumors about how Ellen is mean and everything like that, but that's not the problem," one employee said. "The issue is these three executive producers running the show who are in charge of all these people [and] who make the culture and are putting out this feeling of bullying and being mean. They feel that everybody who works at The Ellen Show is lucky to work there: ‘So if you have a problem, you should leave because we'll hire someone else because everybody wants to work here.'"

Executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner released a statement to E! News about the claims, taking responsibility for the show and attempting to distance Ellen from the allegations:

"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. For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and we realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better."

Apparently, staff are happy that the issues on set have become more widely known, with a source telling Us Weekly that “They’ve been calling and texting each other about the story. They’re loving that the truth—which has been an open secret for years in the industry—is finally receiving more interest.”

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