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Where is Elton John when she needs him? Or Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and the Kardashians?
Embattled Ellen DeGeneres is reportedly “devastated” that Hollywood has turned on her so quickly as she faces a growing chorus of accusations that she actually is mean, imperious and “power hungry” behind her “be kind” talk show persona, and that she didn’t stop her show’s producers from overseeing a “toxic,” “sexist” and “racist” workplace, the New York Post and The Sun both reported. #ReplaceEllen also was trending on Twitter Monday morning, a demonstration that a number of people online want to cancel her show.
Her A-list friends, who also include Brad Pitt, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, may be too wary about speaking out on her behalf, according to the Post. In the wake of #MeToo and the recent rise of Black Lives Matter, celebrities have to be especially concerned about defending anyone associated with allegations of sexual misconduct or reported incidents or racism and intimidation, a source told the Post.
3 Amazing #DigitalMarketing lessons from that famous Ellen DeGeneres #Oscars Selfie https://t.co/o03SB5aEb4 pic.twitter.com/d2ux0MrRiX
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“Everyone’s scared of the liberal mob,” the source told the Post. “They found something with Ellen they could latch onto and that drove even more of a pile-on. No one wants to be next.”
The “pile-on” against the 62-year-old daytime host has intensified over the past week, starting with a report in Variety that Warner Bros. parent company, WarnerMedia, and a third-party firm were conducting an internal investigation into the working conditions at the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.” The investigation comes in response to one current and 10 former employees telling BuzzFeed News about incidents of racism and intimidation on set.
The employees did not directly implicate DeGeneres in these incidents, but she made things worse for herself by sending an internal memo to employees Thursday, which was meant to be an apology, but many didn’t see it that way, according to multiple reports.
In the memo, first revealed by the Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres acknowledged that the culture doesn’t match the expectations she set when she started the show 17 years ago on the principles of “happiness” and “respect.”
DeGeneres said she took “responsibility,” because her name is on the show, her memo apparently left employees and many others dissatisfied because she didn’t sound as though she was truly taking responsibility for any role in perpetuating that culture. Instead, she sounded as though she was largely blaming others by saying she wasn’t able “to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done.”
Hours after DeGeneres’ apology memo was sent, BuzzFeed News published another report in which dozens of former employees accused executive producers of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault.
They accused head writer and executive producer Kevin Leman of groping, making sexually explicit comments and behaving inappropriately at a company party, BuzzFeed reported. Leman denied the allegations, but employees also accused executive producer, Ed Glavin, of “being handsy with women” and creating a culture of fear and intimidation on the show. BuzzFeed said Glavin did not respond to the allegations.
Many online, including some celebrities, were dismayed by DeGeneres’ apology letter. They said they found it difficult to believe she didn’t know how miserably her employees were allegedly treated. They also raised longstanding rumors and reports about her less-than-friendly behavior to people who work for her or to those aren’t fellow celebrities.
In 2016, Kathy Griffin wrote DeGeneres has “a mean streak everyone knows about” in her book, “Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index.” More recently, comedian Kevin T. Porter posted a tweet in March asking people to share instances of DeGeneres being “mean” and received more than 2,700 responses.
“Everybody Loves Raymond” star Brad Garrett joined Griffin and Porter as entertainment insiders willing to call DeGeneres out. Garrett tweeted that it was “common knowledge” that people were mistreated on the set of DeGeneres’ show. “Know more than one,” he wrote, faulting her as much as producers who are the target of allegations. “Sorry but it comes from the top,” he added.
Sorry but it comes from the top @TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge. DeGeneres Sends Emotional Apology to Staff – Variety https://t.co/D0uxOgyyre
— Brad Garrett (@RealBradGarrett) July 31, 2020
“Back to the Future” actress Lea Thompson tweeted support for Garrett, retweeting an article about his statement and adding, “True story. It is.”
So far, the only celebrity to publicly defend DeGeneres has been music mogul Scooter Braun, who said in a tweet that people “love to take shots” at others.
“How quickly so many forget,” he wrote, adding that Degeneres “is a kind, thoughtful, courageous human being who stands for what is right and highlights on her show the best of us. She has helped change the views for equality.”
Elton John has not come to DeGeneres’ defense as she faces her latest controversy — not like he did back In October when she faced backlash for being friendly with former President George W. Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game.
At the time, DeGeneres defended her friendship with Bush on her show, saying that her famous “be kind” slogan means being cordial with people even if you don’t share their political beliefs. John similarly told NPR that it’s not OK in a democracy for people to be shunned just because they have different viewpoints.
Some online want to “cancel” DeGeneres, saying she has contributed to the “sexist, racist, demeaning and intimidating behavior at her show,” BuzzFeed News reported. The Daily Mail reported that DeGeneres wanted to call it quits after staffers slammed her apology.
The Post reported that an internal email shows DeGeneres has plans to return to work Aug. 24 for “Ellen’s Game of Games” and to the set of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” for its season premiere Sept. 9.
“We know that these last few days have been a lot to take in and process for everyone,” read part of the email which was signed, “Love, the EPs.”
An insider told the Post: “She’s fighting to protect the show and what she stands for. She is very upset about what happened and determined to fix the problems. She takes full responsibility. But no way is she quitting the show. That’s total BS.”