Ellen says sorry amid toxic culture claims over her TV show
ELLEN DeGeneres has apologised in the wake of allegations of bullying and a toxic culture around her hit US chat show.
Allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment have been made against top executives at her self-titled TV show while she herself has been described as cold, rude and unpleasant.
Several staff members have accused executive producer Kevin Leman of behaving inappropriately at company parties, with almost a dozen claiming he would regularly make sexually explicit comments in the office to those below and younger than him.
Fellow executive producer Ed Glavin has also faced allegations of racism and intimidation, and is reportedly set to step down immediately.
Ms DeGeneres, 62, lamented how she had pledged to make The Ellen DeGeneres Show a place of ‘respect’ when it launched 17 years ago.
‘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,’ she wrote.
‘Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.
‘And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.’
The star went on to say she wasn’t ‘able to stay on top of eveAlongside
‘Show would be place of happiness’
rything’ as she hired others to do things in the way she wanted them done, which some clearly failed to do.
She continued: ‘My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Warner Bros., we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues.’
In a statement, the Warner Bros. studio said the investigation’s ‘primary findings’ revealed what it called some flaws in the show’s daily management.
The probe followed a BuzzFeed News report in which one current and ten former show employees complained about issues including being fired after taking medical or bereavement leave.
One worker claimed that she left the show because of comments about her race.