The ‘Ellen’ Show Is Officially Cancelled: Take A Look Back At Its Controversies

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Yet when the employee attempted to speak out about this unacceptable behavior, she says her boss’s response only made matters worse. “Whenever I brought up an issue to my white male boss, he would bring up some random story about some random Black friend that he had and how they managed to get over stuff,” she recalled. “He would use his Black friend as some way to say, ‘I understand your struggle.’ But it was all performative bullshit.”

In light of these alarming allegations, three of the show’s executive producers issued a joint statement on the allegations. “Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1000 staff members, we have strived to create an open, safe, and inclusive work environment,” it read. “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.”

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Later in the statement, the trio also took responsibility for these concerning claims. “For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and 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.”

However, not all employees agree that the show’s titular star was blameless in this purported mistreatment. “If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what’s going on,” another former worker said. “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”