“The Ellen Show” is reportedly under internal investigation by WarnerMedia following complaints about workplace environment.
An employee relations group and a third party firm will conduct the investigation into the show, according to a memo sent to staff last week and obtained by Variety. The groups will conduct interviews with former and current employees about their experience while working on the set of the daytime talk show.
WarnerMedia has started an investigation into the workplace environment of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” following the publication of articles that included interviews with employees who complained of discrimination and mistreatment https://t.co/wkQOCUFhpB
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 28, 2020
The investigation comes after multiple reports surfaced detailing working conditions on the show. In April, Variety released a report claiming employees of the production show had been left in the dark regarding pay amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Buzzfeed later published a piece based on interviews with 11 unidentified workers of the show that accused those involved with production of the show of racism, among other things. (RELATED: Ellen DeGeneres Hit With Toxic Workplace Environment Claims Amid Reports Of Her ‘Cold’ Behavior)
Executive producers Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly responded to the allegations made in the Buzzfeed article in a joint statement.
“We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience,” the statement said. “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,” the statement continued. “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.”