As the controversy over the behavior of Ellen DeGeneres and the workplace environment of her eponymous show continues, two more stars have lent their voices to the debate: Kevin Hart and the show’s former DJ Tony Okungbowa.
Hart took to Instagram with a thoughtful message in defense of DeGeneres. “It’s crazy to see my friend go thru what she’s going thru publicly,” Hart wrote. “I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly say that she’s one of the dopest people on the fucking planet. She has treated my family and my team with love and respect from day 1. The internet has become a crazy world of negativity….we are falling in love with peoples down fall. It’s honestly sad…When did we get here?”
Related: Kevin Hart finally seems to understand why LGBTQ people were mad at him, says “I did f*ck up”
“I stand by the ones that I know and that I love,” Hart continued. “Looking forward to the future where we get back to loving one another….this hate shit has to stop. Hopefully it goes out of style soon….This post is not meant to disregard the feelings of others and their experiences….It’s simply to show what my experiences have been with my friend. Love you for life Ellen…”
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It’s worth noting that DeGeneres came to the aid of Hart during the controversy over his homophobic jokes in 2019. The backlash prompted Hart to resign as host of the Academy Awards, though DeGeneres conducted an interview with Hart in hopes of his reclaiming the job. It didn’t work, and DeGeneres endured criticism for her choice to conduct the interview.
Tony Okungbowa, former DJ for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, also opened up via Instagram, though with a much different story. “Hey Guys,
I hope you are all keeping safe out there during these trying times,” he wrote. “I have been getting calls asking me about the Ellen Degeneres Show and I would like to address the time I spent there. I was on air talent from 2003-2006 and from 2007 -2013. While I am grateful for the opportunity it afforded me, I did experience and feel the toxicity of the environment and I stand with my former colleagues in their quest to create a healthier and more inclusive workplace as the show moves forward.”
Okungbowa did not provide any further details than his confirmation of the toxic work environment.
Ellen DeGeneres has come under a recent firestorm of criticism both for personal behavior and, in particular, for a toxic environment on the set of her talk show. Former employees have reported incidents of sexual harassment, hostility by producers and even racism on the set of the show, while DeGeneres herself has been labeled “cold” by a former bodyguard. DeGeneres penned an apology to former employees, though the gesture did little to extinguish the controversy.
An investigation into the conduct and working conditions of The Ellen DeGeneres Show by Warner Media, the parent company of the show’s distributor, remains ongoing.
Cam
So a celeb that she helped out (Who probably have publicists from the same company) after weeks and weeks defends her. But other celebs who didn’t need her to bail them out have backed up the accusations.
The people who aren’t defending her…people who work for her.
jjose712
Which celebrities backed up the accusations?
People accussing her are her staff not other celebrities.
And to be fair Hart at least was loyal, given how Ellen was trashed for defending him (and rightfully so)
Cam
@jjose712
Brad Garrett said he knows people that were treated horribly by Ellen, and Lea Thompson backed him up and said it was True.
And her production company has already admitted there are issues, the only thing they’ve been trying to do is move the blame from her to lower level employees.
Jim
I love these privileged celebrities coming to Ellen’s defense. One has got to wonder if they are just clueless or are they as toxic as Ellen.
arj
Well now…..ain’t ‘dat da kiss o’ death?
LumpyPillows
What exactly made it toxic and why did he remain there for so many years if it was toxic? Bet it is no different than most work places.
Cam
It’s cute how the Ellen defenders keep acting like there have’t already been ten postings on this.
Jack Meoff
You know things are bad when the only person she can get to defend her is Kevin bloody Hart. That has to be the exclamation point at the end of this saga.
Adam69
hi
dhmonarch89
Kevin- when exactly did we all love each other?
phillycap
The fact that Ellen was nice to Hart is hardly a reason to think that these stories aren’t true. Of course she’s nice to most celebrities. It’s the underlings that she treated like shit. Or the people who she didn’t view as in her lofty perch that she basically ignored when the camera went to break. It’s not unusual. Johnny Carson was notoriously like that. All his niceness was reserved for the camera, and America loved him because he did his job well. He was an introvert who played an extrovert. She’s not the first talk show host who has been shown to be playing merely a part. Winfrey, who is immensely talented and a billionaire isn’t noted for being nice to her fans. She doesn’t KNOW the little people. The difference is Winfrey didn’t kick the people who couldn’t fight back in the nuts. Or if she did, she was excellent at making sure that never got out. DeGeneres may not have personally done it to someone often, but she certainly was amused and quite at ease with someone else doing it on her behalf, so it’s plausible deniability. Oooh, my executives treated my staff badly? I never knew!!! DeGeneres didn’t get where she was by being loosey goosey. All these successful people, regardless of their gender are control freaks. Which is fine. But don’t deny it when something negative comes to light and pretend you didn’t know.
OhHellNo
Looks like Kevin’s trying to overcompensate for past homophobia by sucking up to a famous gay person. If it turns out all the Ellen accusations are true, this could do more harm to his career than the homophobia did. I’m beginning to think he’s not a very smart guy.
Kangol2
DJ Tony (Okungbowa) was one of the best aspects of her show early on. I’d tend to believe him, particularly since he expressed gratitude for the gigs but did back up his former co-workers. Kevin Hart as a character witness? GAG!