The queen of daytime TV announced the upcoming 19th season of her show will be its last. Ellen DeGeneres won over viewers for nearly two decades with her fun interviews, daily dancing, and the mantra “be kind.”
But behind the scenes, employees said the environment was anything but kind.
Buzzfeed’s Krystie Lee Yandoli has spent the past year talking to more than 75 former and current employees of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” She reported on the toxic environment that included everything from racist microaggressions to sexual misconduct perpetuated by the show’s top producers, who were later fired.
When DeGeneres returned to TV last September, she apologized for the workplace misconduct that happened on her watch. In following months, the show dropped 1 million viewers — a staggering ratings loss.
In an interview on the “Today” show explaining her decision to end her show, DeGeneres says she is a “kind person” and didn’t know her show was a toxic place to work because she had such a large staff. She also said the “attacks” on her felt “orchestrated” and “misogynistic.”
Yandoli says she’s recently spoken to former “Ellen Show” employees who are glad to see DeGeneres finally facing consequences, but upset that the host continues to cast herself as the victim, while she’s the one who has made millions of dollars off of her “be kind” persona, as her employees suffered trauma behind-the-scenes.