Three top producers at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” are no longer with the program after multiple employees accusations made of abuse and a toxic work environment, first reported by BuzzFeed News. On Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman confirmed. to CBS News that Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman have parted ways with the show.
In an article published on July 16, BuzzFeed News spoke with one current and 10 former employees of the show who claimed to have “racism, fear, and intimidation” in the workplace. A second article on July 30 drew multiple allegations of sexual abuse against the producers.
Warner Media, the show’s distributor, also said it had begun an investigation into the allegations, CBS News’ Jamie Yuccas reported.
DeGeneres responded to allegations of racism and toxicity in a letter to her staff on July 30, received by CBS News. In the letter, DeGeneres said she had hoped the show would be a “place of happiness” where everyone would be “treated with respect” and was “disappointed to learn” that this “was not the case. “
Just hours later, the second BuzzFeed article came down, including accusations of “dozens of men and women working behind the scenes” on the show describing sexual harassment and misconduct by top executive producers at the show.
Specific allegations were made against executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman.
In an email to CBS News on July 31, Leman said the BuzzFeed News article was “full of false claims” and he “categorically” denied “any kind of sexual misconduct.”
In a new statement to CBS News on Monday, a lawyer for Leman said: “The fact that a deeply flawed BuzzFeed article has led to the termination of an innocent man is shocking.”
Glavin and Norman did not respond to CBS News’ requests for comment. Norman denied all allegations against him in a statement to BuzzFeed.
DeGeneres said in her July letter, “My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for it. … While we grew exponentially, I could not stay above all else and relied on others to do their jobs because they knew I wanted to. Clearly some do not. ”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producers Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner will remain at the show.
DeGeneres also announced to its staff that the show’s DJ, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, has been named co-executive producer, a representative of WarnerBros. confirmed to CBS News via email.
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