Ellen DeGeneres Reportedly ‘Embarrassed’ to Learn of Behavior on Set

Ellen DeGeneres is “ashamed and embarrassed” about allegations of harassment, sexual misconduct and racism behind the scenes of her daytime talk show, an insider told Us Weekly Tuesday, as the show parted ways with producers Ed Glavin, Jonathan Norman and Kevin Leman. DeGeneres addressed her remaining staff Monday, and the inside source revealed she seemed contrite.

“She said she’s not on set as much as everyone else, and she didn’t know what was going on,” the source told the outlet. “Ellen said she was ashamed and embarrassed to hear about it and assured them it would not continue.” They added that the comedian “realizes she has to be more involved” with the show going forward after the reports of a “toxic” work environment. “Everyone on the call was glad to hear from her,” they continued. “She said if you heard anything about the show not coming back that’s not true.”

DeGeneres was embroiled in a scandal last month after current and former employees spoke out about their negative experiences on set. The comedian addressed the reports in a memo to her staff last month as WarnerMedia announced an investigation into the workplace conditions. “I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop,” DeGeneres wrote in her memo. “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.”

Remaining on the production team are longtime staffers Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, while resident DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss has been promoted to an executive producer, Variety reported Tuesday. As DeGeneres vowed to her staff to commit herself and the show’s leadership to diversity, she said Boss had already been helpful when it came to this role and would now have a more prominent role in programming and workplace culture.

Boss opened up to Us Weekly about the allegations made about The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this month. “We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love,” the emcee told the outlet. “Obviously there’s some things to address, but from my standpoint and from countless others, there’s been love. I’ll just leave it at that until there’s a time where we can address more publicly. There’s been love and there will continue to be love.”