There’s A New Article About How Working On “Ellen” Is Toxic

2020 has been difficult for all of us, but it’s been especially rough for Ellen DeGeneres’ formerly sterling reputation as the “Queen of Nice”. First there was that Twitter thread that donated to the LA Food Bank in exchange for every mean Ellen story (it basically solved world hunger). Then there was the scandal about Ellen employees barely getting paid during the pandemic. Then her former bodyguard from the 2014 Oscars came forward, claiming the experience was “demeaning”. Ellen also got into some trouble for comparing self-isolating in her mansion to prison, and releasing a tone-deaf statement about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Well, it’s another shitty day in Casa de DeGeneres. Because Buzzfeed took a break from publishing groundbreaking quizzes like “Pick The Yummiest Brunch, and We’ll Tell You If You’re Barren”, put on their best “investigative journalist” fedora, and released an article about the toxic working environment on Ellen. They spoke with one current and ten former employees, all of whom remained anonymous for fear of retribution. See, this is why Dakota Johnson needs to join Witness Protection, ASAP!

Basically, the thesis of the article is that working for The Ellen DeGeneres Show sucks, it’s a culture of fear, and “if you have an issue, don’t even think about bringing it up.” via BuzzFeed News:

“That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show,” one former employee told BuzzFeed News. “I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for show.”

Another source agrees:

“I think it is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to the show’s brand,” a former employee said. “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.”

And even though 2020’s taught us Ellen is the Empress of Evil, this isn’t all her doing. Former staffers blamed the show’s executive producers and senior managers for the “day-to-day toxicity”, but say that, since it’s Ellen’s name on the show, she should take more responsibility:

“If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what’s going on,” one former employee said. “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”

The article contains several examples of said toxic behavior. One former employee says they were let go immediately after taking a month-long medical leave after a suicide attempt. Great timing, Ellen. Another says they were fired after a particularly rough year that included a car accident and two family members’ funerals. Every time they asked for time off to deal with this shit, it was “a battle with supervisors and HR”. Their claims were corroborated by five other employees and medical records.

Another former staffer, a Black woman, simply walked off the job after countless racist comments. She says that, when she was initially hired, a producer told her and another Black employee, “Oh wow, you both have box braids; I hope we don’t get you confused.” And at a work party, a head writer told her,  “I’m sorry, I only know the names of the white people who work here.” Her colleagues just laughed this off. Ahhh, “ironic” racism!

The source says when she called the show out for using offensive terms like “spirit animal”, she was called “the PC police”. And when she started speaking up about the discrimination, her colleagues distanced themselves from her. She went on to say:

“Whenever I brought up an issue to my white male boss, he would bring up some random story about some random Black friend that he had and how they managed to get over stuff,” she said. “He would use his Black friend as some way to say, ‘I understand your struggle.’ But it was all performative bullshit.”

All of BuzzFeed’s sources say there’s a giant divide between employees. The ones who “drink the Kool-aid” and don’t complain (maybe because they’re inexperienced, or because they’re just desperate to work for Ellen), and the ones who recognize the show is toxic and speak up. Those staff members usually don’t get their contracts renewed.

The show’s executive producers (not Ellen) actually responded to BuzzFeed. They say they take these accusations “very seriously”, and claim to have strived “to create an open, safe, and inclusive work environment”. Eh, too bad they sucked at it. They end their statement with the classic corporate bullshit line, “we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better”.

So what’s next? A complete image revamp for Ellen? Another tearful video? Oo, maybe she could pull a Stassi Schroeder/Lea Michele and get damage-control pregnant! Unless that backfires when she pops out a tiny demon newborn like in Rosemary’s Baby. Huh. Maybe Portia should be the one to carry the child. Just to be safe.

Pic: Wenn.com