Ellen DeGeneres Breaks Her Silence Over Workplace Allegations: 'I'm Sorry'

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres finally broke her silence over the allegations of her show having a “toxic” workplace by writing a letter to the staff on Thursday. In her memo, DeGeneres apologized to all the staff members who have been working alongside her to make “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” a success.

In a copy obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the 62-year-old TV personality noted that she always wanted “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to be a place of “happiness” and wanted everyone to be treated with respect. However, she admitted that something “changed” along the way.

DeGeneres also revealed that she is really disappointed to learn that she could not give a healthy work environment to everyone and apologized for everything that led to it.

“Hey everybody – it’s Ellen. 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. 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,” DeGeneres’ letter read, as quoted by THR.

The renowned celebrity also explained that she and Warner Bros. began an internal investigation as soon as the allegations surfaced online and said that they are taking all the steps to “correct the issues” raised about the behind-the-scenes behavior of the people on her show.

DeGeneres also made it clear that she would not have been able to taste success without the “contributions” of all the people who were working tirelessly on the show.

“I could not have the success I’ve had without all of your contributions. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. As we have grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly, some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again,” DeGeneres said in her letter.

Meanwhile, the media outlet also reported that one of the show’s producers, Ed Gavin, will be fired from his position. An insider said that once Gavin is out of the show, it will be a new day for everyone.

In DeGeneres’ new staff message, she expressed “compassion” for the workers who opened up and disclosed how “unfairly” they were being treated by some people.

Her message comes a few weeks after a number of former employees came forward and spoke about the pernicious workplace culture on the show. The complaints prompted WB to start an investigation.