The latest bombshell to come out of reports about the harassment claims that have tarnished The Ellen Degeneres Show is that top executives allegedly knew about the claims since 2018. According to a current and a former employee, who spoke with BuzzFeed, one of the first complaints against the show’s producers was filed with an industry union in 2018.
As BuzzFeed reports, the complaint cited “gender discrimination, including sexist remarks made by top producers.” BuzzFeed did not name the union at the request of the two employees, however, the website did reach out to a representative of the union in question, who did not comment on the matter.
Reports Say ‘Ellen Show’ Executives Knew About Claims in 2018
When asked about the 2018 complaint, Warner Bros. confirmed that it does exist to BuzzFeed’s Krystie Lee Yandoli. Nonetheless, the entertainment conglomerate also said that “there is nothing new or noteworthy about this issue.”
“It was investigated by an outside investigator and resolved with no merit to claims of gender discrimination,” the spokesperson told BuzzFeed. “As previously stated, we are committed to changing the things that need to change and moving forward in a constructive and positive way.”
And although Warner Bros. said the claim was investigated, current employees of the show tell BuzzFeed that they are now “skeptical of the new, ongoing investigation” into these recent claims. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Warner Bros. has already let go of three of the show’s top producers, Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and Jonathan Norman.
Despite changes being made, employees are upset to have learned that these changes could have happened sooner. “This should’ve never happened to begin with. It should’ve never gotten to the point where these people were unchecked and had that kind of power,” one former employee said to BuzzFeed.
“It starts at the top. It starts with Ellen, it starts with Warner Bros., and the culture they create and the culture they allow,” the former employee continued. Sources told Variety that Ellen Degeneres told her staff during a video call on August 17 that she was “not perfect.”
The host later told her staff that in an effort to run the show like a “well-oiled machine,” some of the leaders were not as sensitive to “human beings” as they should have been. Ellen continued to admit that reading the disturbing allegations about the atmosphere on the show was “heartbreaking” for her. She then concluded her words by promising this upcoming season will the show’s best.
And while many of the employees admitted that they were “shocked” to see Ellen on the video call “given her mostly hands-off approach to the day-to-day operation in the past,” they also took it as a “sign of positive changes to come.” But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot of work to be done.
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