Ellen DeGeneres has addressed the controversial end of her eponymous daytime talkshow after allegations that it was a toxic workplace.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show went off the air in 2022 after 19 seasons on NBC following the toxic workplace scandal that tarnished her reputation as TV’s favorite host.
The set, first reported by People and Rolling Stone, referred to a July 2020 with numerous employees who alleged racism, sexual misconduct and intimidation at the hands of executive producers at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
he investigation led the show to fire three top producers and DeGeneres to issue an on-air apology. Though she said she wasn’t aware of inappropriate behavior from staff, “I’m in a position of privilege and power and … I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”
The show never recovered from the scandal, and ended its 19-year run in May 2022.
Onstage at the Largo, the 66-year-old comedian mused about becoming “the most hated person in America” saying: “I got kicked out of show business. There’s no mean people in show business.”
She lamented how the headlines reduced her television legacy. “The hate went on for a long time and I would try to avoid looking at the news,” she said. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind,” DeGeneres continued. “I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps.
Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? Had I ended my show by saying ‘Go f*** yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
Among the allegations was one made by a black woman who claimed she suffered a number of ‘microaggressions,’ her request for a raise was ignored and she was accused of ‘walking around looking resentful and angry’ after asking for staff members to undergo diversity and inclusion training.
Another former employee alleged they were fired after taking medical leave for one month following a suicide attempt. A popular claim that circulated is that staff members were instructed not to speak to Ellen.
Some claims included that staff are required to chew gum before speaking to her because of her ‘sensitive nose’, and that she polices staff lunch orders and bans anyone from eating fish or meat.
Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer, is alleged to have ‘groomed’ a former employee by taking him to concerts and showering him with other gifts and perks before attempting to perform oral sex on him.
Kevin Leman, the show’s head writer and executive producer, is alleged to have solicited oral sex from an employee. Others say they witnessed Leman grope another colleague.
And Ed Glavin, an executive producer, allegedly ‘had a reputation for being handsy with women,’ according to former employees.
The former staffers told BuzzFeed News that they believed the host knew that several of her senior showrunners and producers were alleged to have committed sexual misconduct against junior-level employees.
Ellen came out with an apology after it was announced that her show was subject to a probe which looked into ‘staff experiences on set’.
The host sent her staff a memo in which she wrote she was ‘taking steps… to correct’ issues with her employees.
‘On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry,’ Ellen said in the memo.
‘As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t,’ she added. ‘That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.’
Ahead of the finale, she confessed that she was struggling with ‘anxiety and depression’ and that the aftermath of the scandal was ‘very, very difficult’ time for her.
