Ellen DeGeneres 'Crushed' By 'Toxic' Workplace Allegations, 'Invested' In Making Changes, Source Says

Ellen DeGeneres is very affected by the employees' complaints about the toxic working environment of her show and she's determined to make it up to them, according to an insider.

WarnerMedia has decided to subject "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to an internal investigation after several former and current staff complained about its toxic workplace. The report "crushed" DeGeneres when she learned about the allegations and she is "personally going to be invested in making sure those things are properly changed," a source told People.

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

"There is definitely a tension at Ellen that doesn't exist at the other shows," a different insider said. "The employees all seem on eggshells."

In July, one current and 10 former staffers spoke with BuzzFeed News and shared their horrible experiences on the set. One said that they were fired after taking a medical leave for a month even though they had documents to prove that. Another said that they were fired after taking some time off on three separate occasions within a year.

They felt that it was very difficult to take a leave of absence from their work because whenever they asked for permission with valid reasons, it seemed to be a battle between them and their supervisors and HR.

"That's the definition of a toxic work environment, where they make you feel like you're going insane and then you're like, no, everything I was feeling was right. It was all leading up to this," the former employee, whose story was corroborated by five other ex-staffers, told Buzzfeed News.

Due to the complaints, WarnerMedia decided to investigate the matter. On Monday, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” held a virtual meeting about the investigation.

The meeting received mixed reactions from the staff, according to an insider. Some were hopeful that there would be positive changes on the set. However, the others were not as enthusiastic.

"There's a very negative and fearful vibe from the staff," one source said.

Meanwhile, DeGeneres already apologized to her staff for failing to make their working environment a “happy” place. She thanked her staff, acknowledged their contribution to her success and promised them changes by addressing the issues at their workplace.