It's Hard To Imagine, But Ellen Might Not Be So Nice
Ellen DeGeneres is having a tough quarantine, or at least, as tough a quarantine as one can have as a multi-million dollar celebrity. Her 27 million dollar home in Monticento was apparently burglarized on July 4, but that might be small legumes when compared to the status of her show. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is under internal investigation by WarnerMedia following several allegations from former employees of a hostile workplace environment. According to Variety's sources, WarnerMedia's employee relations group and a third-party firm, who will interview current and former staffers, will conduct the investigation.
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That Ellen could be a toxic work environment is a striking contrast to Ellen's "Be Kind" mantra, but according to one former employee, "That 'be kind' bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It's all for show." Certainly, there have been plenty of rumblings in the past about both the show's internal environment and Ellen herself being not so nice.
But for some, these allegations might still be hard to fathom. I mean, this is Ellen we're talking about. She wears sneakers instead of dress shoes! Look how silly she dances!
True, she is the silliest of silly billies, but also, a former bodyguard described his experience with her as, "very cold and it was very sly and it was actually kind of demeaning in the way that she treats people other than those who are in her circle," which sounds like the way you'd talk about a mob boss, not the lady who plays word games with celebrities.
Workplace culture seems to be the real sticking point here, though. One former employee also told Buzzfeed News that when she was hired, a senior level producer said to her and another Black worker on the show, "Oh wow, you both have box braids; I hope we don't get you confused." A different employee reported that they took medical leave after checking into a mental health facility for a suicide attempt. Upon returning, they were told their position was eliminated. The show has also recently come under fire for leaving employees in the dark for over a month in regards to their pay during the Coronavirus shutdown.
Again, those are bad looks for any workplace, but it's an especially bad look when you're in the "be kind" business and are worth $330 million dollars. The staff doesn't seem to be asking for a million-dollar giveaway like she once did for her audience. It seems that they're willing to settle for open communication and respect. Who'd have ever thought that this might maybe be too high a price for Ellen?
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