Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) A bombshell BuzzFeed article has challenged the sunny facade of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and now producers are apologizing.
Ten former show employees and one current one say they’ve suffered racial indignities while working there. “That ‘be kind’ bulls*** only happens when the cameras are on,” one anonymous former employee tells the website. “It’s all for show.”
One Black former staffer, who spent 18 months working on the syndicated program, recalled to Buzzfeed one conversation with a senior-level producer, who was white, and who allegedly compared her to another Black employee. “Oh wow, you both have box braids; I hope we don’t get you [two] confused.”
The same woman said at a party, another producer reportedly said, “I’m sorry, I only know the names of the white people who work here.”
The accusations don’t extend to Ellen herself, but as the boss, the accusers insist the burden is on her to better police her staff.
In response to the piece, Ellen executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner issued a joint statement to BuzzFeed, which read in part, “Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1,000 staff members, we have strived to create an open, safe, and inclusive work environment. We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us.”
It continued, “For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We…realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better.”
By Stephen IervolinoCopyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
