Ellen DeGeneres Show: Three senior producers have received the pink slip in the wake of several troubling accusations in the work environment of the Emmy-winning series.
Variety reported the news on Monday, August 17. Executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman — have been ousted from the long-running show following horrifying claims raised in recent reports by their publication and Buzzfeed.
On the flip side, Ellen veterans Mary Connelly, Andy Lassner and Derek Westervelt will remain at the show as executive producers alongside their very controversial host.
The decision to do this left Ellen almost in tears, according to sources for Variety, who said she delivered the news via a videoconference call to more than 200 of her staffers.
Per Variety: “DeGeneres told the staff she was ‘not perfect’ and realized that in the effort for the show to run as a ‘well-oiled machine,’ sometimes leaders were not as sensitive to ‘human beings’ as they should have been. She added that reading disturbing allegations about the atmosphere on the show was ‘heartbreaking.’”
“DeGeneres even went so far as to note that the show has at times alienated staffers and even guests by shifting shooting timetables on short notice. She vowed to stick to agreed-upon timetables to make the production process smoother for all.”
The 62-year-old made a rare public appearance over the weekend when she was seen having lunch with comedian Kevin Hart, one of the few celebrities who have stood by her amid everything going down at her show (see pics here) at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, California.
Ellen herself received a ton of flack from the LGBTQ community and others who scoffed at her after she wanted Kevin to still host the 2019 Oscars. He quit due to years-old tweets that resurfaced around that time which came off as very homophobic. The show eventually had no host as a result.
1/2 I know I can’t speak for anyone else’s experience besides my own but I want to acknowledge that I have only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen & on the @theellenshow. I think we all have witnessed the light & continual fight for equality that she has brought
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) August 4, 2020
Other stars who have publicly supported Ellen in recent weeks include Katy Perry and Jerry O’Connell. “I know I can’t speak for anyone else’s experience besides my own but I want to acknowledge that I have only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen & on the @theellenshow,” the mother-to-be tweeted on August 4.
“I think we all have witnessed the light & continual fight for equality that she has brought to the world through her platform for decades,” she continued. “Sending you love & a hug, friend @TheEllenShow.”