DeGeneres apologizes to show’s staff
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres apologized to the staff of her daytime TV talk show amid an internal company investigation of complaints of a difficult and unfair workplace. “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,” DeGeneres wrote. Something changed, she said, “and for that, I am sorry.”
In a separate statement, the Warner Bros. studio said the investigation’s “primary findings” revealed what it called flaws in the show’s daily management.
DeGeneres’s memo and the probe by the studio’s parent company followed a BuzzFeed News report in which one current and 10 former show employees complained about issues including being fired after taking medical or bereavement leave. One worker said she left because of comments about her race.
Most of the complaints were tied to executive producers and senior managers, BuzzFeed News said, but one ex-employee said DeGeneres needed to take more responsibility for the work environment. The people making the allegations were not identified.
In its statement, Warner Bros. said steps are being taken to make several staffing changes and implement other steps,without citing specifics. In her memo, DeGeneres wrote: “As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”