Ellen DeGeneres makes a telling comment about 'not wanting to pay her staff overtime' in a resurfaced Australian TV interview from 2013 - as she apologises to her team amid a probe into 'toxic, bullying' workplace
Ellen DeGeneres joked about not wanting to pay her staff overtime in an Australian TV interview from 2013 - seven years before her employees went public with allegations of racism, bullying and a 'toxic environment' behind the scenes of her daytime talk show.
The 62-year-old, who hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing herself but apologised in a letter to staff on Thursday, told Today show entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins that she wanted 'everybody to work really, really hard... but not too hard that I have to pay them overtime.'
She made the comments during a sit-down chat in Melbourne that was reportedly fraught by disruptions and tension, according to Today's then-executive producer.
When the American TV personality joked about having to pay overtime, her staff could be heard laughing loudly in the background.
Telling: Ellen DeGeneres joked about not wanting to pay her staff overtime in an Australian TV interview from 2013 - seven years before her employees went public with allegations of racism, bullying and a 'toxic environment' behind the scenes of her daytime talk show
Ellen made the remark after being thrown a softball question by Wilkins, who said: 'Your TV show is a smash; we love it. How hard do you have to work to make it look that easy?'
She replied: 'Um, we work heard. I mean, we, you know, I won't fool you, we work... I want everybody to work really, really hard. Hard enough that I know they're doing all they can, but not too hard that I have to pay them overtime.
'I mean, I draw the line at like, "Okay, go home. That's good... good enough!" So, you know, we all work very hard because we're really proud of what we do.
'And I've always said from the very beginning: I want the show to be a great show whether it's on in the middle of the day or when they come home at night and people have [recorded] it and it's just as good as a late-night show.'
She continued: 'I want it to be an entertaining show with celebrities, which is great, but I want regular people, I want to help people, I want to play games... We really constantly try to improve every single day. We want the show tomorrow to be a better show than the show we did today.'
Joke: The 62-year-old, who hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing herself but apologised in a letter to staff on Thursday, told Today show reporter Richard Wilkins (above) that she wanted 'everybody to work really, really hard... but not too hard that I have to pay them overtime'
Later in the interview, Wilkins said: 'I don't think you'd change very much at all if you could, would you?
'Um, no, because if I wanted to change I would. I can do anything I want. I'm Ellen,' she replied, as her crew burst into laughter once again.
It comes after Today's former executive producer Neil Breen revealed he had been told not to look at or speak to Ellen when she appeared on his program back in 2013.
Breen, who now presents his own radio show, said Ellen's staff were the only ones who were allowed to interact with her - and they 'walked on eggshells', laughing so loudly at her jokes during the interview that he had to tell them to be quiet.
He added that Ellen's people dictated everything - from seating, to lighting, to how the interview would work - adding that he found the whole situation 'bizarre'.
'The people who worked with her walked on eggshells': She made the comments during a sit-down chat in Melbourne that was reportedly fraught by disruptions and tension, according to Today's then-executive producer, Neil Breen
Breen told 4BC, the radio station where he is now a host, that Ellen was initially supposed to co-host the Today show during her tour of Australia seven years ago, but the plan was continually changed and watered down by her team.
Eventually, it was agreed that Ellen would do a sit-down interview with Wilkins in Melbourne - meaning production had to be moved there from Sydney at the show's expense, Breen said.
Breen said that he and Wilkins arrived at 'one of the plush hotels in Melbourne' on the day of the interview to find 'a lot of people' from Ellen's team waiting for them.
'The producer called us aside and said, "Now Neil, no one is to talk to Ellen. You don't talk to her, you don't approach her, you don't look at her,"' he said.
'"She'll come in, she'll sit down, she'll talk to Richard and then Ellen will leave." And I sort of said, "Are you fair dinkum? I can't look at her?" I found the whole thing bizarre,' he added.
During the interview itself, Breen had to ask Ellen's staff to stop laughing at her jokes because it was interrupting the recording.
Breen said he had no idea whether Ellen knew what was happening around her, 'because I never got to talk to her'.
'I have no idea whether she's a nice person or not, I wouldn't have a clue,' he added. 'But I can tell you the people who work with her walked on eggshells the whole time.
'We're there to do an interview to promote what she's doing, but you can't look at her? Someone get real.'
'Don't look at her': Before the interview, one of Ellen's producers had apparently warned Breen (pictured) not to acknowledge the Emmy-winning host at all when she entered the room
It comes as The Ellen DeGeneres Show faces an internal investigation following numerous allegations there is a 'toxic' and 'bullying' workplace culture.
The host herself apologised to staff in a letter released on Thursday, saying that she takes overall responsibility for her namesake show and that there are steps being taken to 'correct the issues'.
'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,' Ellen wrote, hinting that senior staffers would be held accountable.
'Clearly some didn't. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.'
Internal investigation: It comes as The Ellen DeGeneres Show faces an internal investigation following numerous allegations there is a 'toxic' and 'bullying' workplace culture. Ellen herself apologised to staff in a letter released on Thursday, saying that she takes overall responsibility for her namesake show and that there are steps being taken to 'correct the issues'
Sacked: Ed Glavin (pictured), one of three executive producers at Ellen, is going to be fired by Warner Bros., the studio in charge of the U.S. talk show, sources told The Hollywood Reporter
Ed Glavin, one of three executive producers at Ellen, is going to be fired by Warner Bros., the studio in charge of the popular daytime talk show, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Ellen and her show are now subject to a probe by WarnerMedia, which will look into 'staff experiences on set'.
An internal memo sent last week explained that current and former staff will be interviewed about claims of 'mistreatment, racism and intimidation' behind the scenes.
Ellen hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing herself.
The memo insisted that producers Telepictures and Warner Bros. Television are committed 'to providing an environment where employees can flourish'.
Ellen DeGeneres makes a telling comment about 'not wanting to pay her staff overtime' in a resurfaced Australian TV interview from 2013 - as she apologises to her team amid a probe into 'toxic, bullying' workplace
![Ellen DeGeneres makes a telling comment about 'not wanting to pay her staff overtime' in a resurfaced Australian TV interview from 2013 - as she apologises to her team amid a probe into 'toxic, bullying' workplace]()
Reviewed by CUZZ BLUE
on
July 31, 2020
Rating:
No comments: