Is Ellen’s empire finally falling? We hope not! But things certainly aren’t looking good for the funny lady or her popular daytime talk show.
Multiple news outlets are confirming that WarnerMedia has launched an internal investigation into allegations of racism, fear mongering, and intimidation happening behind the scenes at The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Related: The Ellen Show’s future is not looking bright
Crew members recently received a memo signed by Telepictures executive vice president Donna Redier Linsk and WBTV vice president of human resources Donna Hancock Husband informing them that a WarnerMedia employee relations group, along with a third party firm, is conducting the investigation.
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Variety reports:
The memo comes on the heels of recent unflattering reports about working conditions at the show. In April, Variety reported on the treatment of legacy crew members during the coronavirus lockdown. In mid-July, BuzzFeed published a report alleging racism and intimidation on the show.
A source tells NBC News that the investigation doesn’t involve DeGeneres herself, affirming, “It’s not about her, at all.”
A source close to production of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has confirmed to NBC News that Warner Media has launched an internal investigation into the show amid reports alleging a toxic work environment. @Miguelnbc has more. pic.twitter.com/fhYLrEqbwL
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 28, 2020
According to an earlier report by Variety, the alleged abuse happened by higher-ups in production, who basically threw the entire crew under the bus as soon as the coronavirus pandemic hit:
The core stage crew for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, consisting 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, said two sources, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. Higher-ups in production would occasionally answer phone calls but reveal little, added one of the sources. The crew was further incensed by the show’s recent hire of an outside, non-union tech company to help DeGeneres tape remotely from her home in California. When production executives finally did weigh in, nearly all crew members were told last week to brace for a 60% reduction in pay, even as the show continues to air, according to sources close to the matter.
Related: The bad news keeps on piling up for Ellen DeGeneres
Buzzfeed added:
BuzzFeed News spoke to one current and 10 former employees on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, fearing retribution from the award-winning NBC daytime talk show and others in the entertainment industry. They said they were fired after taking medical leave or bereavement days to attend family funerals. One employee, who claims she was fed up with comments about her race, essentially walked off the job. Others said they were also instructed by their direct managers to not speak to DeGeneres if they saw her around the office.
Neither Warner Bros. Television nor “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” have issued any comment on the investigation.
But perhaps the most deafening silence is coming from Ellen herself, who has yet to address any of the controversies, including numerous accusations of mean behavior and bullying, that have plagued her in recent months.
Related: Ellen says she “misses” her staff after ex-employees accuse her of being secretly “mean”
Cam
An “Internal Investigation”. So the same type of investigation that kept people like Bill O’reilly and Matt Laur protected for years.
Let me guess, Warner Media will wait a few days/weeks and then announce that they didn’t find anything wrong, but that managers would take sensitivity training because their employees are so important to them blah blah blah..
Evji108
The cancel culture has come full circle in 2020 now with attacks being focused on women, not just men for not being perfect in every way.
Cam
It’s adorable how these new accounts keep coming in to cry about “Cancel Culture” to defend workers being abused, fired for made up reasons, racism etc…
We get it, right wingers burned out complaining about “Political Correctness” as a code word for them being pissed they couldn’t be openly racist anymore, and now they cry about Cancel Culture, which means they’re furious people are being held responsible for their actions.
And Just like Republicans think putting one black face in Trump’s audience will shield them from being called racist, they think the rest of the world is the same way and that saying somebody is a woman or a minority will shield people.
I hate to break it to you, but in the real world, the only people who haven’t been held responsible for their actions are rich white Republican man, everybody else knows there are consequences for their actions. But keep on defending employees being harassed and abused, your agenda is clear.
Vince
This is mostly just a Union employment dispute that has nothing to do with Ellen. Big woop.
trsxyz
That was my thought as well.
ThinkPIease
We should ask Kara Young if Trump is a racist. Oh wait she already has done interviews and stated, he is not a racist. When did Ellen ever date a black woman? Ellen must be a racist.
cs1900
What are you blathering about?
Cam
Oh Look, Putin’s trolls are out trying to push a new hashtag.
Please tell your former office errand boy boss to hire smarter trolls.
Terrycloth
Should be an outside investigators and 1 on 1 private interview…isn’t it a little too late if the whole house is on fire a garden hose won’t help much. Sorry when your boss is the problem fire the boss .cancel the show , she has 50 other jobs.give her time slot to Kelly Clarkson. Not paying Ellen anymore will save you 50-60 million a year.
frapachino
Lo wokism has officially jumped the shark!
Cam
Interesting how all of the right wing troll accounts keep desperately defending someone who is a friend of George Bush and routinely defends people who make anti-LGBTQ statements.
You showed your hand.
Seth
Ellen has become the thing from another tax bracket, at this point. Coddling straight people has become her sole forte, so she can go cry her crocodile tears to her bestie Dubya. I’m fresh out of compassion for people who sell out our community and for the whole of “white gay” bigotry.