No filter! Ellen DeGeneres spoke candidly with her staff amid allegations of toxicity on set.
“Producers, Ellen and crew were on a video call this afternoon,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, August 17. “Ellen addressed them. It really boosted morale. She opened up and was being real. [She] admitted to being multilayered and said she has good days and bad days. She said people on the call would know that she has not asked people not to look her in the eyes on set.”
The Ellen DeGeneres Show host, 62, also told her employees that she is “an introvert,” the insider added, noting that “her life kept getting bigger and bigger and she went from no one wanting to back her to her show blowing up.”
The Los Angeles native doesn’t want people on set “to be afraid to address her and say hi,” the source went on to say. “She encouraged it.”
While on the call, DeGeneres also told her staff members that producers Ed Glavin, Jonathan Norman and Kevin Leman, who had been accused of sexual misconduct and denied the claims, have all been let go from the talk show. A spokesperson for Warner Bros. confirmed the news.
Last month, the Emmy winner came under fire after BuzzFeed News published reports alleging racism, fear and intimidation behind the scenes of her ABC show. After Warner Bros. launched an internal investigation, the Home author addressed the reports in a letter to her staff.
“On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect,” DeGeneres wrote in the note obtained by Us on July 30. “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”
Earlier this month, Us exclusively reported that producers called staffers to assure them “the show will go on” despite the scandal.
DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss broke his silence on the toxicity claims on Tuesday, August 11, exclusively telling Us, “We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love. Obviously there’s some things to address, but from my standpoint and from countless others, there’s been love. … There will continue to be love.”
The So You Think You Can Dance alum added that he is “of course” anxious to return to set. On Monday, Variety reported that Boss, 37, has been promoted to executive producer.
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