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It has been quite a summer for comedian and tv host Ellen DeGeneres . After the allegations of toxic work culture from former staff members of her syndicated TV talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The 62-year-old confirmed she would be publicly addressing the rumors at her tv show. “I will be talking to my fans,” she said in a paparazzi video outside a restaurant in Santa Barbara, California.
In July, BuzzFeed broke the news that dozens of staffers at the show were victims of misconduct, including racism and intimidation from executive producers and other senior managers. “That ‘be kind’ bulls**t only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show,” one anonymous and a former employee said. “I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for show,” while other people advised DeGeneres to be more present and care about the work environment. “She really needs to take more responsibility.“
“If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what‘s going on,” one former employee said. “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”
Last week, when employees where reintegrating, DeGeneres once again apologized to around 200 staffers in a video conference, and according to Variety‘s Matt Donnelly, she cried after taking “a lot more accountability” and realizing that she “trusted the wrong people.” “She seemed quite disturbed by accounts that you can’t look her in the eye, the guests were discouraged from engaging with staff,” Donnelly said. “All this to say, the end of that section of her speech, she did say, please look at her. Please talk to her and engage.”
As reported by ET Online, executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman left the show, following the scandal.
Among the changes made within the variety show, is the promotion of Stephen “tWitch” Boss to co-executive producer, that from now on will have more say on the selection of music, guests, and more. In an interview with Us Weekly, the 37-year-old dancer broke the silence and commented on the claims. “We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love,” he said. ”Obviously, there’s some things to address, but from my standpoint and from countless others, there’s been, love.” Ellen DeGeneres sidekick concluded by saying: “I’ll just leave it at that until there’s a time where we can address more publicly. There’s been love, and there‘ll will continue to be love.”
Colombian actress and model Sofia Vergara also agree that she only has had great experiences with DeGeneres and slammed comments that victimized her. “Two comedians having fun with each other to entertain,” the ”Modern Family” star wrote. “I was never a victim guys, I was always in on the joke,” she said, referring to the claims that the tv host continually makes fun of her English accent.
The new season of The Ellen Show will be back on September 14. According to ET Online, employees working for DeGeneres at WarnerMedia Entertainment will have unique benefits that span from paid time off and medical leave policy more liberal.
