Ellen DeGeneres He apologized to staff at his talk show in the midst of an internal company investigation into allegations of a difficult and unfair work environment.
“On day one of our show, I told everyone at our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place of happiness – no one would ever speak out, and everyone would be treated with respect,” DeGeneres wrote. Something changed, he said, “and so I’m sorry.”
In a separate statement, the Warner Bros. study said the investigation’s “first findings” revealed what they termed some flaws in the day-to-day running of the program.
DeGeneres’ memorandum and the study’s parent company investigation follow a report in BuzzFeed News in which a current employee and 10 former employees complained about matters including being fired after taking medical leave or in mourning. A worker said she resigned due to comments about her race.
Most of the complaints were tied to executive producers and managers, BuzzFeed News said, but a former employee said DeGeneres must take greater responsibility for the work environment of his program. The people who made the complaints were not identified.
The complaints stand in stark contrast to the show’s cheerful tone, DeGeneres’ demeanor toward its audience, and its calls for people to be friendly and supportive.
In its statement, Warner Bros. said the company and DeGeneres take complaints about their “job culture very seriously” and that their parent company tries to determine the validity of the publicly reported claims and understand the day-to-day operations of the program.
“As a result, WarnerMedia interviewed dozens of current and former employees about the environment on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’… And while not all the allegations were substantiated, we were disappointed that the first results of the investigation indicated some shortcomings related to day-to-day driving. of the program”.
Steps are being taken to make various staff changes and implement other decisions, the study said, without providing details. The internal investigation was first reported by Variety.
DeGeneres wrote that she has a “deep compassion” for people who are treated unfairly or ignored, as she herself has been judged for “who I am.” DeGeneres has talked about the price he paid for being overtly gay.
“Having grown the program exponentially, I couldn’t stay on top of everything and trusted others to do their jobs as they knew I wanted them to. Clearly some did not. That will change now and I am committed to making sure this does not happen again, ”he said in the memo.
“It has been too long, but we are finally having conversations about fairness and justice,” DeGeneres said, adding that she will push herself and others to “learn and grow.”
He indicated that the pandemic of COVID-19 He kept me from giving his message in person to employees, and ended his letter by saying, “Stay safe and sound” and “Love, Ellen.”
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