Does Ellen Really Practice What She Preaches?

By: Mark Deutsch

Ellen Degeneres provides a toxic work environment for her employees. Credit: Entertainment Weekly

Everyone’s heard of The Ellen Show, hosted of course by Ellen DeGeneres, the supposedly warm-hearted charity donor. But behind that charming smile there’s something pretty rotten beyond the set. After all the toxic buildup, the truth has finally come out.. 

But what was the breaking point that had employees finally open up about what happens behind the scenes? 

It was probably working from home and too much time on their hands associated with Covid that allowed them to realize the toxicity of their work environment. Now that the rumors have finally reached the public, there are numerous allegations against “The Ellen Degeneres Show.” 

Firstly, there are the classic testimonies of racism throughout the workplace. One such comment was about how one white employee said to a black female coworker, “ I’m sorry, I only know the names of the white people who work here.”  

This horrible comment wouldn’t fly normally, yet here it’s allowed to freely soar. There is of course more to the racist rumors, with awful bosses who won’t help to do anything about this. 

The bosses are another problem who fuel this toxic environment who refuse to help while playing favoritism. Apparently they lavish their favorite employees with extraordinary gifts, while the others receive nothing. The superior executives have even more allegations against them, including accounts of bullying, stated by their employees.

Employees who stand up for themselves often receive a punishment, such as no promotions or pay raise. But those who are favorites get more than just fancy swag, they’re also excused for small violations. 

Next up is medical leave, another serious complaint of unfairness amongst the Ellen staff. According to one employee, after a month of rest after a suicide attempt, she lost her job. Considering what the woman had just gone through, her job security should not have been in jeopardy.

Another employee had a horrible run of luck one year and had two funerals plus a car accident. He also got fired with no consideration for the trauma he had been through that year. Most businesses wouldn’t fire employees for these reasons. Besides, the executives always think that they can hire more people whenever they please. 

The reasoning why the executives say it would be easy to find people is that  everyone wants to work there. It’s true that working for Ellen is an exciting opportunity, until one works there for a week. 

Let’s finally examine Ellen’s purpose in the show herself, not onstage but in the workplace itself. According to several news sites she’s quite a different person off stage. She apparently doesn’t know the full extent about the studio’s condition, even after being awful to her own employees. 

Ellen and her executives have been trying to dispel these “rumors” but it may be too late. Does the queen of nice truly have some skeletons backstage or are the reports false?