Three Producers Leave Ellen Degeneres but Will the Toxicity Remain?
What happens if Ellen DeGeneres runs out of people to blame? | Image: VALERIE MACON / AFP
- Three former Ellen DeGeneres show producers have departed amidst a WarnerMedia investigation.
- Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and Jonathan Norman — who are at the center of various allegations — are now out.
- But will that solve the toxicity problem?
The question of whether Ellen DeGeneres can recover from the hits against her character is one that remains to be seen.
But as of today, she has three fewer people to blame for her problems.
Three producers who were, allegedly, at the center of the allegations of workplace toxicity, have departed the show, according to an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter.
The Buck Stops With Ellen DeGeneres
Even though Glavin had most of the fingers pointed at him in that damning Buzzfeed report that kicked off the WarnerMedia investigation , the buck, ultimately, stops with Ellen DeGeneres.
Yet, DeGeneres has refused to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong on her watch.
In an open letter that she penned to her employees, she once again made it all about her and portrayed herself as a victim of bad employees.
As we’ve 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.
With the departure of these three key figures, has anything changed?
Same Nonsense, Different Day
If you thought that Ellen DeGeneres was going to step up to the plate and be accountable now that three of the show’s producers have bounced, think again.
Even now, she continues to paint herself as a victim — even after her employees made clear that she couldn’t plead ignorance.
Her employees told The Hollywood Reporter:
It’s not okay to claim ignorance. When the faces of your staff change so much from one season to the next, something is not okay.
For her part, Ellen DeGeneres is now claiming that she’s just an introvert , and that’s why people are working against her.
DeGeneres announced the staffing changes in an all-staff video Zoom call, where she also apologized again to staff for press reports about the show’s toxic workplace. In the call, DeGeneres discussed being an introverted personality that likes to have her own space, which may have led to staffers believing she wasn’t nice. “I’m a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and try to learn from my mistakes,” she said.
Even that seems like a weak cop-out.
Video: Ellen DeGeneres’ Producers Are Out — But Nothing Has Changed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-dqqvzq_8
It’s okay to be introverted. It’s not okay to be cruel. And Ellen DeGeneres appears to be the latter, even if she’s now claiming to be the former.
And for that reason, it’s doubtful that the toxicity will end with these three producers’ departures. She’ll just transfer her negativity to the next batch of suckers that come along.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
