Ellen Loses 1 Million Viewers After ‘Toxic’ Workplace Allegations, Ratings Now in Orbit of Steve Wilkos
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The Ellen DeGeneres Show has reportedly faced a steep decline in viewers this season, after employees of the popular daytime show alleged a racist, toxic work culture.
According to The New York Times, citing data from Nielsen, Ellen has now lost more than a million viewers since its season premiere in September. The daytime show dropped from an average of 2.6 million to 1.5 million, marking a drastic decline.
“The show’s loss of more than a million viewers translates to a 43 percent decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors,” reads a Times report on the ratings drop.”This TV season, ‘Ellen,’ the winner of dozens of Emmys since its start in 2003, is no longer in the same league as traditional rivals like ‘Dr. Phil’ (3.1 million) and ‘Live: With Kelly and Ryan’ (2.7 million). Now it finds itself uncomfortably close to shows hosted by Maury Povich (1.4 million), Kelly Clarkson (1.3 million), Rachael Ray (1.2 million), Tamron Hall (1.1 million) and Jerry Springer’s former security guard Steve Wilkos (1.1 million).”
In a bombshell Buzzfeed News report back in July, several former Ellen employees, and one current employee, detailed an environment filled with racism and forms of intimidation, which clashed with host Ellen DeGeneres’ “be kind” mantra.
“I think it is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the show’s brand,” one employee told Buzzfeed News. “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.”
The allegations prompted WarnerMedia to launch an investigation into the show, ultimately uncovering “deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management.”
DeGeneres later reached out to staff to apologize, also addressing the allegations on air during her season opener.
“As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show and then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres said.
“I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power and I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”
Although many viewers tuned in to see her apology, scoring the highest rated season opener in four years, Ellen has now lost a significant percentage of that audience, according to the Times report.
