After months of reports and claims of the “toxic work environment,” on her television show, Ellen Degeneres has finally decided to come clean.
The drama around the claims began as far back as April when reports were circulating that told of those that worked for the show was being left out of the look and uninformed about the statue of employment and pay, while in the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were additional claims of the 62-year-old comedian presenting with a behavior on the cold side to numerous individuals, including her former bodyguard.
Then, in July, Buzzfeed broke the story wide open with the publishing of a series of anonymous testimonials from employees—both current and former. They all claimed the show was guilty of such acts as racism, bullying, and even wrongful termination.
Now, Ellen is finally coming clean. In a letter reportely obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, she attempts to make amends: “On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen Degeneres Show would be a place of happiness.”
The comedian went on to remind that she had promised her staff that no one would raise their voice, and that respect would be granted to everyone. She then said that obviously, something had changed.
She expressed her disappointment at the situation and stated that she was sorry for everything that had happened, as it was the opposite of what she had believed and hoped for the show.
It seemed like she was then making excuses, saying that as the show had exponentially grown, she had turned to others to self-manage, and it turned out that some couldn’t.
She assured her staff that: “That will now change, and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
Degeneres stated that her nearly losing her career when she came out is her reason for her compassion towards those treated differently.
In a statement released to Fox News on Thursday, Warner Brothers said that: “they take the recent allegations around the show’s workplace culture very seriously.” The studio explained that they had interviewed numerous former and current employees, in an attempt to determine the validity and extent of the allegations.
In a statement previously made to Buzzfeed, the shows executive producers, including Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly, and Andy Lassner, were “truly heartbroken and sorry” when they learned of the accusations.
Will these accusations continue to follow Degeneres and, in the end, cost her her talk show?