Ellen DeGeneres has sent a letter to the staff of her talk show addressing recent allegations of workplace misconduct.
Over the past few months, there have been rumors about a toxic working environment at The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with some staff reporting they felt bullied, intimidated or discriminated against. Earlier this month, Buzzfeed ran a piece detailing the situation.
Former employees suggested that DeGeneres’ ‘Be kind’ slogan was ironic given how toxic they had found their experience of working on the show. The allegations were leveled chiefly at some executive producers and senior managers of the show, rather than DeGeneres herself.
Related: People are coming out of the woodwork to accuse Ellen Degeneres of ‘mean’ behavior
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That piece prompted an investigation by WarnerMedia, which produces the Emmy Award-winning TV show. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has published a letter it says DeGeneres emailed to staff yesterday. It says the email was given to them by two different staff members, with one source saying DeGeneres was encouraged not to comment while the internal investigation was taking place. It’s now believed the investigation has concluded and staff changes will soon be made.
DeGeneres began her email to staff by recalling the beginnings of her talk show.
“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. 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 says she could not have had the success she has enjoyed without the contributions of others, but, “My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
She goes on to say that she know what it’s like to be treated unfairly.
“I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop. As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or — worse — disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.”
She thanks people for bringing issues to her attention and promises, “to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow. It’s important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so.”
You can read the whole letter at The Hollywood Reporter.
When DeGeneres talks about “being judged” and almost losing everything, she is presumably referencing her coming out as gay. She did this in 1997, during the run of her successful, eponymous sitcom, Ellen. However, coming out came at a price. Her sitcom was dropped shortly afterward and her work offers dried up for several years until she found success again with her talk show.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is now in its 17th year and was renewed in 2019 for another three seasons.
Related: Ellen’s show is officially being investigated over allegations of racism and intimidation
WarnerMedia did not confirm what staff changes may be taking place but issued a separate statement.
“Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres take the recent allegations around the show’s workplace culture very seriously. We hoped to determine the validity and extent of publicly reported allegations and to understand the full breadth of the show’s day-to-day culture. As a result, WarnerMedia interviewed dozens of current and former employees about the environment at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“It was important to both Warner Bros. and Ellen that as many people as possible attached to the program could be heard. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is, and has always strived to be, a place that brings positivity to the world. And though not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management.
“We have identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them. Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres are all committed to ensuring a workplace based on respect and inclusion. We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show.”
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Cam
Sorry, but multiple people, including people who worked for other shows on the lot told stories about how abusive Ellen is.
Also, one of the complaints about the show’s hostile work environment told by multiple people were that they were told not to look at Ellen or interact with her. If you are Ellen and that order did NOT come from you, you’re going to ask “Why won’t anybody look at me?” That came from her.
Lastly, her letter:
““I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop. As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or — worse — disregarded. ”
1st sentence is a threat “Stop talking about me”
The rest of the paragraph is her trying to adjust the narrative so that she’s the victim. Still no explanation for the woman who was fired for getting pregnant, the staff not knowing if they’d get paid, Ellen breaking their contract to put the show set in her home, etc…
Not really buying it.
whateverokok
That’s not news. You wouldn’t believe water was wet even if you were swimming in it.
Neoprene
Mother Superior has spoken.
Cam
@whateverokok
Sweetie, please tell Ellen’s publicist, if they’re going to have an intern try to troll sites, could they please get one that’s been to school. Your comment literally makes zero sense.
Cam
@Neoprene
Translation: The troll account claims that the dozens of people both on the show, and in neighboring sets are all lying, and Ellen is the only person telling the truth.
I’d say “Nice Try” but it was such a weak post I can’t.
dhmonarch89
her statement makes it sound like people in management/around her are doing the abusive treatment…but the stories I’ve read say it’s all coming directly from Ellen. She seems to be in denial.
Heywood Jablowme
Oh, woe is me, Ellen looked at me cross-eyed, I’m traumatized! “Help help, I’m bein’ repressed! You saw that, you saw her repressin’ me!” (quote from Monty Python & the Holy Grail) …WAAAAH!
I’m going to take the contrarian view. Ellen should fire all these losers, what a bunch of whiners!
Jared MacBride
Not a very convincing statement, I doubt she even read it. They’re hoping people will move on to some other indignity; I’d say chances of this are slim. The sharks are circling.
funpitt412
Cam (Karen), take a break. We are tired of reading your comments, girl!
Cam
You’re welcome to point out anything I said about the Ellen situation that was wrong.
Max
the way she treats her producer Andy, even if meant to be funny for the show, is really mean spirited. putting him in embarrassing situations just for audience laughs.
I’ve always felt it was an indicator of how she might be truly underneath the exterior of trying to appear she is a goodie.
Onecaddy13
That was an apology? Too late!!! this one signed off years ago. Bye Girl..
C_Alan
@Cam and @Max have the correct take on this. All others are fuct (pronounce this word out loud for a prize!)
I wonder what crisis management firm was hired to shield the golden calf from all this troublesome inconvenience?
winemaker
Why is this overpaid bag of talentless gas still giving us ‘updates’ ? Really most of us don’t really give a rats ass about her drama and are tired of the ‘updates as we all have more important things to deal with than her BS and ongoing drama.. In the words of ‘joyless’ behar of that waste of an hour of valuable time and your intelligence. the ‘view’: “so what who cares, move on”. Why don’t we all move on and ignore her and maybe she’ll just go away. Why does the gay community continue to idolize her as if she’s done significant things for people other than herself? If she didn’t make it a big deal she’s gay, she’d have been a has been,.
tmaPSP
Ellen: “Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps…”
Uh wait…the person people were complaining about (Ellen) was part of the team (Ellen + WB_ that conducted the investigation? Am I reading that right? I can’t wait until the retaliation claims come for those who she fires or WB transfers somewhere else…and nothing changes.
Who the hell runs their HR department? This letter in itself resembles a retaliatory response.
nmharleyrider
What the hell took her so long. Too little, too late.
ScottOnEarth
I take all of this with a grain of salt. In today’s work world, especially entertainment, people are hyper-sensitive and equally entitled. They are unhappy with having to come to work on-time and do a full day’s work and have trouble working in the adult world. I doubt it’s a truly hostile work environment.
Terrycloth
Rich lesbian narracisst. ..she is the boss ..when the boss is the number one problem , fixing the staff or even hiring a completely new staff won’t fix the problem. Ellen has at least 30 other jobs. She’s worth nearly 500 million..cancel the show.she will be fine.at least try to be a better person by giving your employees a heads up so they can find employment elsewhere.
Doug
I don’t get it… most of the allegations of toxic behavior come from people who have dealt with her professionally or personally. She makes no mention of her own behavior in the letter, only those of others in her team. It’s kind of a red flag that says she thinks she’s treating people the way she should be able to and she’s beyond reproach.