The Ellen DeGeneres Show has come under a lot of fire in the last few days over allegations of racism and intimidation at the workplace. Her staff also alleged that the set was "dominated by fear."
As per the revelations made to Buzzfeed by the current and former staff of the show, some of Ellen's employees had been laid off for taking medical and bereavement leaves. An employee also alleged that she had witnessed 'racism' and 'microaggressions' while working for the show.
In another instance, an employee alleged, "That 'be kind' [stuff] only happens when the cameras are on. It's all for show. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it's for show."
Ellen responds to allegations
The 62-year-old host has responded to the allegations in a statement that read, "On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness - no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect."
She also added, "As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or - worse - disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me."
However, contrasting to this statement, some insiders have given statements like, "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."
The WarnesrMedia too has issued a statement on the allegation, saying, "We have identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them."
Amidst these shocking revelations, the talks of the show going off air have been rife. However, the show's executive producer, Andy Lassner has come forward to confirm to a Twitter follower that, "Nobody is going off the air".
The drama is still unfolding each day, but this incident definitely throws light on the prevalent workspace issues in Hollywood.
