Ellen DeGeneres Bullied An 11-Year-Old Boy Before Stardom, Louisiana Man Claims

KEY POINTS

Ellen DeGeneres allegedly bullied an 11-year-old child because of his weight
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" host was crushed after learning about the toxic workplace complaints from her staff
DeGeneres is determined to make it up to her employees, according to a source

Ellen DeGeneres bullied an 11-year-old boy when she was just about 20 years old due to his weight and appearance.

Years before DeGeneres made it big in Hollywood, she used to work in a recruitment agency called Snelling Personnel owned by Ben Gravolet's mom in the lakeside New Orleans. According to Gravolet, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" host regularly attacked him with mean insults to the point that he didn't want to visit his mother's office anymore.

"I would dread going to [my mom's] office to see her after school or on a day if I was sick and Ellen was there," Gravolet said in an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV.

"She would criticize my weight. I would try to do homework in the office, she'd call me stupid, she'd call me fat. She would criticize my clothes. I was just a boy and this was a grown woman who took pleasure in seeing me become visibly upset. I don't think there's any excuse for it. I was a defenseless kid. What could I have told her back?"

Gravolet, who is based in Louisiana, revealed that he was always conscious about his weight and DeGeneres' mean comments about his appearance only made him feel worse. He also shared a particular incident that still sticks to his mind.

"One incident stands out in my mind," Gravolet shared.

"I was sitting beside her desk. I was drawing, and she criticized the drawings. She said 'I guess that would look nice if you could draw,'" he continued.

"As I watched her meteoric rise to fame, people would say how great she was and all I could think was she must be an incredible actor because she was one of the most vile people I've ever met in my life,” Gravolet said before asking, “Who takes pleasure in giving a child pain?’”

Meanwhile, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" has been subjected to internal investigation after employees complained about its toxic workplace. One source said DeGeneres was crushed when she learned about the allegations and is determined to make the changes.

"She wants to just put out a great show that makes people happy and feel good. She's very focused on that," the insider said.

DeGeneres and her staff will shoot new episodes for the show in September.