She is often treated with something akin to adulation by her live audience fans who hang on her every word and take life advice from her on a daily basis. Her mantra ‘be kind’ has become something of a million-dollar brand - it must have come as something as a shock to those fans when it was reported that there was a toxic work environment on set with complaints by certain staff members of bullying, intimidation and racism.
One former employee told BuzzFeed News,” That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for show.”
BuzzFeed News also reported that the “toxic work culture” perpetuated by Ellen DeGeneres and her executive producers, had forced 10 former employees and one current Ellen employee to go on the record anonymously for fear of retribution from Ellen and the industry at large, describing a work environment filled with “racism, fear and intimidation.”
Following the shocking allegations, Warner Bros.Television, which produces the show, initiated an investigation and found that although "not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management."
In response, DeGeneres has committed to changing the workplace culture on set, penning a lengthy and emotional letter to her staff.
You can read the letter in full on The Hollywood Reporter.
Rumours have been circulating for many years about how difficult DeGeneres is to work with. In March of this year comedian, Kevin T. Porter took to Twitter and started a thread asking people to share “the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen [DeGeneres] being mean.” The tweet has more than 2,600 replies.
