Reportedly, the executive producers of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” had no choice but to address allegations of their toxic workplace environment after the Fox News interview with a bodyguard who documented their unpleasant experience with the host. .
An employee who was still working for the production company behind the DeGeneres talk show told Buzzfeed News that Thomas Majercak’s exclusive interview with Fox News left executives struggling to fight the allegations after weeks of remaining silent.
“A current employee told BuzzFeed News that on May 1, the same day the story about the former bodyguard was released, executive producers made the rare decision to hold a full staff meeting on Zoom to address the stories. negative and low morale. ” report said.
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The staff of ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ has repeatedly claimed that the show has a ‘toxic’ work culture.
(Getty)
Ten additional former employees of the long-running show spoke anonymously to the store with additional nightmare claims about what it’s like to work for DeGeneres and top producers. Many supported the claims made by Majercak, who told us that he experienced DeGeneres’ “cold” and “degrading” behavior while protecting her at the 2014 Oscars ceremony.
“Ellen is the only person assigned to me, and assigned to various celebrities, who has never taken the time to greet me,” Majercak told Fox News at the time.
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(NBC)
The former employees shared heartbreaking details of their day-to-day experiences working on “Ellen,” which included claims of racist comment and directives from producers not to speak to DeGeneres if she was wandering around the office off the air.
A former employee criticized the show for using its positive content and contributing donations to guests as a way to mask negative behavior taking place off-camera.
“I think it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the brand of the show,” a former employee told the outlet. “They pull people’s hearts; they know that they are going to get likes and what people are going to look for, which is a positive message. But that’s not always the reality. “
Another employee said that the bull “be nice” occurs “only” when the cameras are rolling.
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“Everything is for show,” added the former staff member.
A black woman who used to work on the show also told Buzzfeed that she was the victim of racist comments. The woman claimed that a senior producer commented on her and the “box braids” of another black employee.
“I hope I don’t confuse them,” the producer allegedly told employees.
The same staff member claimed that one of the show’s top writers once told him that “they only know the names of the whites who work here.”
The former black employee said she received an apology from a manager who had approached her amid recent Black Lives Matter protests. The employee felt the apology came “too late,” according to the report.
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Others alleged that they were fired from their jobs for taking days of bereavement or medical leave, and a former employee claimed that he took a month off to receive mental support for an attempted suicide. That employee returned to the office only to learn that his position had been removed, according to the report.
Portia de Rossi, left, and Ellen DeGeneres arrive at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, January 5, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP)
Most of the former crew members emphasized that it was primarily the “executive producers and other top managers” who were responsible for the harmful behavior. But a former staff member believes that the responsibility should rest with the host.
“She really needs to take more responsibility” for the environment, said the employee.
Fox News’ multiple requests to the DeGeneres production team went unanswered in May seeking comment on Majercak’s claims. Executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, however, made a comment for the Buzzfeed show.
“Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes and employing more than 1,000 staff members, we have strived to create an open, safe and inclusive work environment,” they said. “We are truly heartbroken and sorry to hear that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It is not who we are and it is not what we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us,” explained the program executives. said.
“For the record, the day-to-day responsibility of the Ellen show falls entirely on us. We take all of this very seriously and realize, as many in the world are learning, that we must do better, we are committed to doing it. best”. , and we will do better, “the statement concluded.
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In April, Variety interviewed anonymous staff members who said the program did not report the status of its work and did not pay amid the coronavirus pandemic. Warner Bros. Television, the program’s distributor, claimed the team was paid at reduced hours.
Meanwhile, an influential beauty who appeared on her talk show in January claimed that DeGeneres was particularly “cold” and gave preferential treatment to guests on List A.
Representatives for the program and DeGeneres did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
