The Ellen show has had a rough couple of months of PR and a really bad 48 hours. If you saw my earlier post you saw Ellen issued an apology to her staff after more complaints came out from the Today show Executive Producer about what it's like working with Ellen.
BuzzFeed News has an even uglier story today!
BuzzFeed News has interviewed 36 former staffers of the show and several claim that executive producers engaged in serious sexual misconduct.
Kevin Leman was singled out for allegedly asking for oral sex from one staffer in the bathroom at a holiday party. Another staffer said they saw Leman grab another staff members crotch.
Leman responded to the story by saying, “While my job as head writer is to come up with jokes — and, during that process, we can occasionally push the envelope — I’m horrified that some of my attempts at humor may have caused offense,"
Executive Producer Ed Glavin is accused of being “handsy” in the control room, by touching shoulders, backs, and lower waists. He’s also been said to rule with intimidation and has “creep factor.” 5 people independently told of Glavin having a button on his desk that he would push to shut his office door when he wanted to intimidate people he was yelling at. He has not responded yet.
Jonathan Norman is accused of "grooming" a young employee by taking them to concerts then attempting to make him perform oral sex. Three other former staffers corroborate that the employee told them that the next day. Norman responded "I'm 100% categorically denying these allegations. I have never had a single complaint against me in my career. I have never 'groomed' anyone. I have never done anything to harm another staff member. Ever."
A former Warner Bros employee tells Buzzfeed that the company had received complaints for years about the working conditions on the Ellen show. They turn a blind eye to the alleged misconduct because the show “is a cash cow.”
When asked about Ellen's apology another former staffer said it’s implausible that DeGeneres hadn't heard these stories for years. She simply wanted the best show possible and wasn't going to run off any of her top tier creative people who made it possible.