Former Ellen DeGeneres Employees Allege Racism, Toxic Work Culture
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Former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show alleged that they experienced racism and other discriminatory, toxic actions at the hands of producers in a detailed Buzzfeed News report on the show’s workplace environment.
Ten of the show’s former employees and one current employee went on the record anonymously, for fear of retaliation from Ellen DeGeneres, to describe an environment allegedly filled with racism and forms of intimidation — clashing with the show’s “be kind” mantra.
“That ‘be kind’ bullsh*t only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show,” one former employee told BuzzFeed News. “I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for show.”
Some employees claimed they were fired for taking medical leave or bereavement days to attend funerals, while another claimed she quit due to racist comments. Many even said they were told not to speak to DeGeneres directly if they saw her in the studio or around the office.
A Black employee said she experienced racism and microaggressions, and claimed that when she spoke to producers about the incidents, they ignored her complaints and called her “the PC police.” She specifically pointed to a main writer who consistently failed to learn her name, claiming they “only know the names of the white people who work here.” A senior-level producer also reportedly told her and another Black employee, “oh wow, you both have box braids; I hope we don’t get you confused.”
While the majority of the employees blamed the producers for the toxic culture, one pointed out that it is the show host’s responsibility to know what goes on behind the scenes.
“If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what’s going on,” they said. “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”
Another employee claimed that they took medical leave following a suicide attempt, and returned to work to discover their position was eliminated.
“I think it is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the show’s brand,” another employee said. “They pull on people’s heartstrings; they do know that’s going to get likes and what people are going to go for, which is a positive message. But that’s not always reality.”
Executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly, and Andy Lassner responded to the report with the following statement:
Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1000 staff members, we have strived to create an open, safe, and inclusive work environment. We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us. For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and we realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better.
