Over the past few weeks, Ellen DeGeneres has been accused by dozens of current and former employees of turning a blind eye to racism, intimidation, and even sexual misconduct on the set of her daytime talk show. Now, it’s been revealed that three of DeGeneres’ top executive producers have been fired in the wake of these allegations coming to light.
Variety reported that executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman have all been fired from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” A spokesman for Warner Bros. confirmed that the three men have “parted ways” with the show.
Meanwhile, “Ellen” veterans Mary Connelly, Andy Lassner and Derek Westervel are set to stay on as executive producers alongside DeGeneres. Connelly, Lassner and Westervelt have each been with the talk show since it premiered back in 2003.
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Staffers on “Ellen” learned of the firings on Monday during a meeting that involved DeGeneres speaking via a videoconference call. As DeGeneres addressed over 200 members of her staff, she was visibly emotional and in tears at times.
Multiple sources said that DeGeneres told her employees that she is “not perfect” and realized that in the effort for the show to run as a “well-oiled machine,” sometimes leaders were not as sensitive to “human beings” as they should have been. The seasoned talk show host reportedly went on to say that reading the disturbing allegations about the toxic atmosphere on the show was “heartbreaking.”
DeGeneres even admitted to that the show sometimes alienated staffers and even guests by shifting shooting timetables on short notice. Going forward, she promised to stick to agreed-upon timetables to make the production process smoother for everyone involved.
DeGeneres and her fellow producers did not take questions from the staffers, who are all still working remotely at this time. However, DeGeneres pledged to meet with staffers in small groups, once the coronavirus pandemic is over. She also said that she and her fellow producers would participate in diversity and inclusion workshops, and that her show’s longtime resident DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss has been promoted to co-executive producer.
Later in the call, DeGeneres slammed the persistent rumor that staffers are told not to address her or even look her in the eye if they encountered the host, saying that this was “crazy” and “not true,” although she also described herself as an “introvert.” Multiple sources said that DeGeneres apologized to anyone who felt “disregarded.”
DeGeneres said many times on the call that she was “proud” of the show’s success, and that the program would “come back strong” next month.
“This will be the best season we’ve ever had,” DeGeneres said.
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.
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