It’s been years since The Ellen DeGeneres Show entered the pop culture zeitgeist and it’s still as popular as ever. But after seeing new reports, we’re starting to wonder if its days are numbered.
For months, there have been allegations of harassment, misconduct, and more behind the scenes. Ellen recently spoke out and offered up an apology while implying that she was unaware of the inner workings of her show. But as criticism continues to pour in, reports have emerged that she is allegedly considering canceling the show.
A recap of the allegations surrounding ‘The Ellen DeGeneres’ show
There had been rumors about Ellen and her show for years. But things really kicked off in March when comedian Kevin T. Porter tweeted about Ellen’s apparent reputation as “one of the meanest people alive” and asked other social media users to share the worst Ellen stories they’ve heard.
As his comment section expanded with stories, staffers at the show went public with complaints about their treatment during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, telling Variety they went weeks without updates on their pay and unemployment status. (A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Television defended the show to Variety but acknowledged that its communication did suffer at times due to the chaos that the pandemic caused.)
BuzzFeed News followed up with a bombshell report in which multiple employees claimed they “faced racism, fear, and intimidation” from producers on the show. Following the report, WarnerMedia launched an investigation into the claims.
Ellen DeGeneres’ statement on the allegations surrounding her show
As backlash mounted, Ellen sent a memo to staffers where she took responsibility for the claims.
In the message, which was published by The Hollywood Reporter on July 30, she wrote: “As we’ve grown exponentially, 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 and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
However, that only prompted more backlash, with many people alleging Ellen had been fully aware of the work environment and was therefore not sincere in her apology.
Among the many critics was Everybody Loves Raymond actor Brad Garrett, who tweeted on July 31, “Sorry but it comes from the top. [I] know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge.”
Ellen DeGeneres has allegedly started to consider quitting the show
As backlash continues to pour in, a supposed source at Telepictures — the production company behind the show — told The Daily Mail in a report published on July 31 that Ellen has allegedly seriously been thinking about walking away from the program.
“She feels she can’t go on and the only way to recover her personal brand from this is to shut down the show,” the insider explained “The truth is she knew what was going on — it’s her show. The buck stops with her. She can blame every executive under the sun — but Ellen is ultimately the one to blame.”
With that, the source concluded, “There’s really no way to save the show from this PR nightmare, so Ellen leaving may be the only way for this entire mess to go away.”
Executive producer Andy Lassner tweeted a day before the report surfaced that the show would not be canceled. But Ellen herself has yet to address the topic.
Source: Read Full Article