Ellen DeGeneres broke her silence Friday with an apology for allegations that her show has a toxic workplace.
Ellen DeGeneres is breaking her silence with an apology for the recent bombshell accusations about a toxic work culture at her show. "Hey everybody — it's Ellen," the letter to her staff begins.
She writes that she wanted the "Ellen Show" to be a "place of happiness" where "no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect."
"Obviously something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case," she wrote. "And for that, I am sorry. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that."
But she also blamed others for the scandal that's threatening her reputation. "I've not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I'd want them done. Clearly some didn't. That will now change," DeGeneres wrote.
Just hours after her apology, a new report from Buzzfeed News detailed more allegations against the show's top producers, painting a disturbing picture of what junior staffers allege the environment is like at the show, which is shot on the Warner Brothers Studios lot in Burbank, California.
The show's executive producer, Ed Glavin, is said to have had a button under his desk which he used to intimidate employees by remotely shutting his office door during meetings.
"Usually, according to these former employees, this was what they call an intimidation tactic to induce fear," said Buzzfeed's Krystie Lee Yandoli.
Yandoli spoke to former employees who also accused Glavin of being "handsy with women" in work spaces like the control room, including rubbing their shoulders and touching them on their lower waist.
"The former employees who I spoke to said that they experienced and witnessed a range of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, from top executive producer Ed Glavin and filtered, permeated throughout the culture," Yandoli said.
Glavin has reportedly been fired.
Degeneres is not accused of any misconduct herself. But some are questioning whether she was in the dark or if she knew, but turned a blind eye.
Also on Friday, actor Brad Garrett, who appeared six times on the show, tweeted an eye-opening response to the scandal.
"Sorry but it comes from the top at The Ellen Show. Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge," Garrett said.
"Former employees who I spoke to said that they find it hard to believe Ellen doesn't know the full scope of what goes on behind the scenes if everybody else knows," Yandoli said.
RELATED STORIES
