Tony Okungbowa, the former resident DJ of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, talked about his time on the show's set and its alleged toxic work environment. The actor finally answered fans' questions about his experience after being the show's DJ for about 1,600 episodes.
In a post on Instagram, the 52-year-old star started his note by hoping everyone is safe during these trying times. He then revealed that he had been getting calls asking him about the chat program.
Okungbowa finally addressed the issue about the time he spent on Ellen. The Echo Park producer admitted he was grateful for the opportunity he had, but said he also did experience the toxic work environment.
He also stood in unity with his former colleagues, who are now trying to create a "healthier and more inclusive workplace" as the show continues. Okungbowa had been on Ellen from 2003 to 2006, Us Weekly noted.
He once again returned in 2007 and stayed for another six years. After he left in 2013 and pursued an acting career, Stephen "tWitch" Boss replaced him and has been Ellen's DJ since 2014.
Okungbowa's statement, however, is a far cry from Samantha Ronson's revelation. The 42-year-old DJ, who had also worked on Ellen, backed the show and Ellen DeGeneres herself.
In a tweet, Ronson revealed she wasn't only working as a DJ on Ellen but for DeGeneres' parties, too. For years, she said the 62-year-old host had "always" been "kind and respectful" to her.
She also responded to some followers' accusations that DeGeneres only treated her well because she is a "celeb from a famous family." Fans seemed to insinuate Portia de Rossi's partner is only nice to people with celebrity status and not to those who have a lower profile.
Ronson explained she knew questions like that would come and added that people could become "super rude" when they started paying others for their service.
Ronson's support came after de Rossi, finally, broke her silence and came in defense of her spouse over the never-ending issues about DeGeneres' alleged mean attitude. She posted a graphic photo with the words "I Stand By Ellen" on Instagram.
She captioned the snap with a thank you for their fans' support, assuring them that they see what they do. De Rossi also used the hashtags #stopbotattacks, #IStandWithEllenDeGeneres and #IStandByEllen in support to DeGeneres.
