WarnerMedia is now, reportedly, conducting an internal investigation relating to the alleged workplace problems happening on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Telepictures and Warner Bros. Television executives sent a memo to the show's staffers, advising them WarnerMedia's employee relations group and a third party firm would ask both the current and former staffers about their experiences on the show's set.
According to Variety, the memo came after news emerged that The Ellen DeGeneres Show had an alleged unpleasant working conditions. The memo was said to be from Telepictures executive vice president Donna Redier Linsk and WBTV vice president of human resources Donna Hancock Husband.
However, the name of the said "third party consultant" was yet to be revealed. A source familiar with the memo said both companies stressed its commitment to provide a good working environment for the employees where they could grow.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the publication revealed the treatment of "legacy crew members" during the lockdown. BuzzFeed, also, published a story about the alleged racism and intimidation happening on the show in mid-July.
Earlier this month, BuzzFeed News published a story about the ten former The Ellen DeGeneres Show employees, who reportedly experienced "racism, fear, and intimidation" on set. An ex-employee said the show's "be kind" mantra was only happening when the cameras were on. Indeed, the show gave money and helped people out, but it was just "all for show."
Another one added that the host, Ellen DeGeneres, should be "more involved" in what was happening behind the scenes. The ex-staffers, who came forward, cleared that the alleged toxic environment on the set was because of the executive producers and other senior staff members, and not the comedian herself.
The former staff explained that the executive producers that surrounded DeGeneres seemed to covince her that things were going great. They might even claim that everybody was happy, and she might have believed that. However, the worker thought it was also the host's responsibility to go beyond that and see what was really happening.
After the allegations surfaced, executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly, and Andy Lassner released a joint statement to address the claims, Us Weekly noted. They said they had strived to build an "open, safe, and inclusive" work environment for the over 1,000 staff members throughout the course of The Ellen DeGeneres Shows' 17 years on the air. As it seemed the environment they wanted to create was not followed, they promised to do better.
