Ellen DeGeneres finally responds to allegations about toxic work environment on her show

By Sam Barsanti | July 30, 2020 | 10:15pm

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Ellen DeGeneres finally responds to allegations about toxic work environment on her show

Ellen DeGeneres Photo: Jon Kopaloff

Earlier this month, former employees of the Ellen show shared horror stories in a Buzzfeed report about the toxic behavior going on the behind the scenes of television’s most aggressively cheery talk show. While the stories didn’t usually involve Elle DeGeneres herself, that itself was a problem, as some of the former employees said that the producers keep her so separated from the actual day-to-day work on the show that she really has no idea what’s going on. There were also allegations of racism and a general refusal to accept any questions or criticisms from staff, often centered around producer Ed Glavin, who allegedly reprimanded an employee—a Black woman—for asking for a raise after she found out how much less she was being paid than coworkers in the same position. Just a few days ago, WarnerMedia (which produces the show) announced that it was launching an investigation into the allegations with a third party firm that would involve interviewing current and former employees about their experiences on the Ellen set.

Now, finally, DeGeneres herself has responded to all of this (via The Hollywood Reporter), admitting in a letter given to staff that she has “not been able to stay on top of everything” and chose instead to delegate responsibilities to staff members who she assumed would do their jobs in the way she “[would] want them done.” She goes on to say that this “will now change” and that she’s “committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”

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Her statement and WarnerMedia avoided commenting on the fates of specific employees, but the implication—backed up by THR’s sources—is that she’s throwing Ed Glavin under the proverbial bus. He’s apparently going to be let go, as are other unnamed staffers, with one of the THR sources saying that it should “be like a new day” once he’s gone. Those sources also backed up claims that DeGeneres was “largely kept shielded” from how Glavin handled things, and based on her statement, it at least seems like she’s now aware of why that was a problem.

You can read DeGeneres’ full statement, which acknowledges the irony of her show—”a place of happiness”—facing allegations like this, at The Hollywood Reporter.