Channel 9 Pulls 'The Ellen Show' Amid Toxic Workplace Accusations
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is officially off-the-air here in Australia, with Channel 9 pulling the talk show from its daily midday timeslot following the barrage of negative headlines about Ellen and the toxic workplace staff have been forced to endure on her show.
“We are resting Ellen repeats on Nine and have replaced with Desperate Housewives,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
If you haven’t been following, the show’s been copping some heat recently after multiple staffers came forward, alleging they were bullied, sexually harassed and discriminated against behind-the-scenes of the hit TV show. The allegations are currently being investigated by WarnerMedia – more on that here.
Since then, Ellen has reportedly apologised to staff twice. First via email – which many took as her attempt to shift the blame to other higher-ups on the show – she wrote: “As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or — worse — disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.”
Then, in a reported Zoom call, Ellen said sorry again, admitting she “wasn’t perfect”. “I’m a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and I try to learn from my mistakes,” she allegedly said.
“I’m hearing that some people felt I wasn’t kind or too short with them, or too impatient. I apologise to anybody if I’ve hurt your feelings in any way”, she apparently continued. Reports have it that Ellen was emotional during the call.
Ellen is set to start filming season 18 of her talk show in September, but there's no word yet on whether or not Channel 9 will air the new season. “Do we have rights beyond this year? The answer to that is no,” Nine’s programming director Hamish Turner told TV Tonight earlier this month.
Despite support from her celebrity pals and some inventive attempts at shifting the blame; this is one headache that just won't go away for Ellen – the long-term hit to her career remains to be seen.
Main Image Credit: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
