'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' producers address staff members as misconduct probe continues

Dozens of former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show alleged harassment and misconduct by top executives on the show. Variety reported that following the allegations, the producers are addressing the staff accounts of workplace misconduct on the popular daytime talk series. More questions have been raised about how will these allegations affect the persona of Ellen DeGeneres.

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Ellen DeGeneres Show producers address the issue

Reportedly, senior creative and producers have returned to work this week. Over 140 personnel at Ellen will gradually return in stages following the lockdown break. The investigation is still going on. Variety reported that WarnerMedia’s employee relations group and a third party firm would interview current and former staff members about their on-set experiences.

The new season of Ellen is scheduled to release on September 9th, 2020. Senior VP of issues and crisis management Andrew Moesel spoke to Variety and talked about how the reports will impact the viewership of Ellen. He said that it is yet to be determined if the viewership will fall pertaining to the allegations that have been put on the show executives by the former employees of the show.

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Andrew Moesel also told the portal that the crisis they are facing is not an acute problem. He further added that it is more a challenge to Ellen’s brand ethos and the way viewers perceived her and her value as an entertainer. Over the years, Ellen’s public persona was carefully crafted and people saw her as the friendly, relatable person next door. The media portal reported that Andrew told them that the allegations create a sizable crack in the impression of her as a friendly next-door neighbour.

Ellen DeGeneres has always told everyone to “be kind to one another”. Even when Ellen won a Daytime Emmy in June for the best entertainment talk show, DeGeneres in her acceptance speech said that she would more actively use her show as a way to create change and amplify the voices of people of colour. Some publicists told a media portal that the core fan base of the long-running show is unlikely to stop tuning in because of recent reports. They further told the portal that time will tell whether the negative publicity will sour more casual viewers.

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Image credits: Ellen DeGeneres Instagram, Still from The Ellen show