Ellen DeGeneres Joked About Not Paying Her Staff Overtime: ‘I Can Do Anything I Want’
Ellen DeGeneres previously joked about not paying her staff on the Ellen Show overtime fees.
DeGeneres’ interview on Australia's Today show in 2013 resurfaced after former Ellen Show employees revealed their harrowing experiences while working for the comedian.
While speaking with Richard Wilkins, DeGeneres said that she wants her staff to work hard, but not too hard that she would have to pay them overtime.
Wilkins then told DeGeneres that he doesn’t think she’d change very much at all if she could. And the comedian said no.
“Because if I wanted to change, I would. I can do anything I want, I’m Ellen,” she said.
This week, Neil Breen, the former executive producer for Today revealed that he was told not to look or talk to DeGeneres when she appeared on his program seven years ago.
Breen revealed that the original plan was for Portia de Rossi’s wife to co-host the Today Show. However, the plans reportedly fell through. Breen also said that DeGeneres’ producers and entire team controlled everything behind the scenes.
“The producers called us aside and said, 'OK, this is how it's going to work here this morning. Ellen's going to arrive at 10.15 and she'll be sitting in this chair here and Richard you'll be sitting in this chair here. Neil, no one is to talk to Ellen. You don't talk to her, you don't approach her, you don't look at her. She'll come in, she'll sit down, she'll talk to Richard and then Ellen will leave,’” Breen said.
Breen couldn’t believe the instructions that he heard especially the part where he can’t look at the comedian.
“I'm not blaming Ellen, because I didn't get to talk to her because I wasn't allowed to, so I don't know if she's a nice person or not, I wouldn't have a clue. But I can tell you, the people who worked with her walked on eggshells the whole time and the whole thing was totally bizarre,” he said.
Last month, BuzzFeed News spoke with 10 former Ellen Show employees who said that there was a toxic work environment on the set of the talk show. The employees didn’t also directly blame DeGeneres, but they said that she should’ve been more involved because it’s her name that appears on the program.
Shortly after, DeGeneres apologized to the former staff. And she also vowed to become more involved with what’s going on behind the scenes.