Staff Letter From Ellen DeGeneres Addresses Workplace Misconduct Allegations
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is usually seen as a place of positivity, but recent news articles have thrown the show into the spotlight for entirely negative things -- specifically workplace misconduct. Now show host Ellen DeGeneres has sent out a letter to staff addressing these allegations.
The Hollywood Reporter says that the 62-year-old television host claimed responsibility for the misconduct perpetuated in the workplace since the show bears her name. The laundry list of allegations lobbed against the production includes unjust termination, racism, and toxic work culture.
DeGeneres admits that she has not been able to “stay on top of everything” and had instead trusted people working for her to foster a work environment that she approves of. She agrees that this did not happen and pledged to change how things are done and ensure that this does not happen again.
The host also reaffirmed her commitment to having the show be a “place of happiness” and assured the victims of the alleged racism and discrimination that she also knows what that feels like, having been subjected to the same treatment when she came out as a lesbian in the late 1990s.
Deadline reports that Warner Bros., which produces the show, has also released a statement regarding the allegations and promising staffing changes after the internal investigation has been conducted.
Warner Bros. says that while not all allegations have been corroborated, there have been some “deficiencies” discovered in the show’s management during the preliminary investigation. The studio also promises “appropriate measures” to address these deficiencies, with staffing changes being one of them.
Speculation is rife that the staffing change means the firing of The Ellen DeGeneres Show executive producer Ed Glavin, who was the name mentioned in the Buzzfeed report that triggered the investigation into the show.
Glavin, along with fellow executive producers Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly, had earlier released a statement taking full responsibility and expressed their readiness to do better with day-to-day management moving forward.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is just the latest production to be plagued by workplace complaints. Lucas Till, star of the MacGyver reboot, recently revealed that he felt “suicidal” while working with the show’s former showrunner, Peter Lenkov. The 29-year-old says he was subjected to bullying, verbal abuse, and body-shaming by Lenkov and was pushed to his “breaking point.”
Justice League director Joss Whedon was also called out for abusive behavior by Cyborg actor Ray Fisher. Fisher claims that on set, Whedon was gross, abusive, and unprofessional.
Former Warner Bros. co-president of production Jon Berg and former DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns were also called out by Fisher, who alleged that the pair enabled Whedon’s abuses on set.