The Ellen DeGeneres Show Subject of Internal Investigation After Workplace Complaints
Last week, a memo was sent to current and former staffers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show announcing an internal investigation of the workplace
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Warner Bros. is conducting an internal investigation of The Ellen DeGeneres Show following multiple complaints of a toxic work environment.
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter report a memo was emailed to employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, which stated Warner Bros. will be interviewing current and former staffers about their experience on the set of the syndicated talk show, per their sources who have knowledge of the email’s contents. Said interviews will be conducted by WarnerMedia’s employee relations group and an unspecified “third party firm,” according to Variety.
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Two weeks ago, BuzzFeed News published accounts from one current and 10 former staffers who anonymously claimed they were subjected to a “toxic work environment.” Numerous individuals alleged they were fired after taking medical leave or bereavement days and were subjected to favoritism by executive producers, with one other employee claiming they faced microaggressions
Ellen DeGeneres was never accused of any of the alleged misconduct. And though none of the staffers named the talk-show host, one person stated, “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”
At the time, executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner told E! News they are taking the claims “very seriously.”
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“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,” they continued. “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.”
Ellen herself has not yet addressed the accusations.
At time of print, the comments section for the star and her talk show’s Instagram account were disabled.
E! News reached out to reps for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but didn’t immediately hear back. Warner Bros. declined to comment.
