With growing criticisms and accusations mounting against The Ellen Degeneres Show, Ellen Degeneres herself is issuing a statement which has been obtained by E! News. As many reports have stated, former and current employees are claiming that working for the daytime television show is not what it seems.
And while the majority of the allegations have been against Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, the executive producers of the show, and not Ellen, the longtime host opened up about alleged workplace misconduct anyway, E! News reports.
Ellen Degeneres Breaks Her Silence.
“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. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.”
Ellen then apologized for her show turning into something other than a place of happiness, adding that “anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.” Then after attributing her “success” to her fans and the many people who have worked under and for her, she took full responsibility for everything.
“My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that,” she wrote, according to E! News. Ellen continued by revealing that she and Warner Bros. “are working together to determine the next steps to ‘correct the issues’ they found through an internal investigation.”
“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.”
Ellen also addressed other statements issued by Lassner, Glavin, and Connelly. According to E! News, in their own statement, the producers wrote, “For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us.” However, as the host continued, insinuating that they were not authorized to speak on her behalf.
“…People who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am. That has to stop. […] “As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or—worse—disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.”
At the conclusion of her statement, Ellen wrote that she’s grateful people felt “safe” enough to come forward with their experiences.
“Again, I’m so sorry to anyone who didn’t have that experience. If not for COVID, I’d have done this in person, and I can’t wait to be back on our stage and see you all then,” Ellen said.
Warner Bros. also issued a separate statement saying that it is their top priority “that as many people as possible attached to the program could be heard. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is, and has always strived to be, a place that brings positivity to the world.” However, they also revealed that not every allegation that has been made in the last month has been “corroborated.”
Nonetheless, as the entertainment conglomerate continued, they wrote that they are “disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management.”
“We have identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them. […] We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show.”
In an interview with NPR’s David Folkenflik, BuzzFeed journalist Krystie Lee Yandoli, who initially reported on the claims against staff at The Ellen Degeneres Show, revealed that she had spoken to “36 former employees who described an environment on the show of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.”
“Former employees said that this culture started with executive producer Ed Glavin – that he would touch them inappropriately in the control room and make them feel uncomfortable, that generally, he led with fear and intimidation. Former employees also told me that head writer and executive producer Kevin Leman groped them, touched them inappropriately and made sexually explicit comments in the office and at office parties as well as a former employee who told me that executive producer John Norman groomed him over a period of time and then also made an unwanted sexual advance on him.”
You can listen to Yandoli’s full interview with NPR here.