Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Tyler Perry has won awards from the NAACP and BET. Now he’s getting a big one from the Television Academy. He and his foundation are the recipients of the 2020 Governors Award. The prize, picked by the academy’s board of governors, honors Perry “for his unprecedented achievements in television and his commitment to offering opportunities to marginalized communities.” Perry has so far created 22 feature films, over 20 stage plays, 13 television shows and two bestselling books. The Atlanta-based producer was one of the first major filmmakers to power back up production in the wake of the coronavirus health crisis. “Tyler Perry has changed the face of television and inspired a new generation of content creators. He pioneered a new brand of storytelling that engages people of color both in front of and behind the camera, and his shows have resonated with a global audience,” said Governors Award selection committee Chairman Eva Basler in a statement. The award honors an individual or organization in the television arts and sciences whose achievement is “so exceptional and universal in nature that it goes beyond the scope of annual Emmy Awards recognition.” Previous recipients of the Governors Award include “Star Trek,” “American Idol,” “Masterpiece Theater” and Comic Relief.
■ Three producers of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” have exited amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks. DeGeneres informed the staff of the shakeup Monday in a video conference call, according to Variety, which first reported the development. She said she found claims about the show’s environment to be “heartbreaking,” the trade publication said, citing unidentified sources. A spokesman for the show’s producer, Warner Bros., said in a statement that executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman have “parted ways” with the long-running daytime series. An internal company investigation of claims about the show was prompted by a BuzzFeed News report in July based on 36 interviews with ex-staffers, who complained about or said they witnessed improper and unfair treatment. A representative for Leman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Representatives for Glavin and Norman couldn’t immediately be found. In statements made after BuzzFeed News’ July 30 story, Leman denied “any kind of sexual impropriety,” and Norman said he categorically denied the accusations. After the article was published online, DeGeneres sent a memo to her staff recalling her early promise of ensuring a workplace where “everyone would be treated with respect.” Something changed, she said, “and for that, I am sorry.”