Ellen DeGeneres has been dragged through the mud lately amid allegations of a toxic workplace going public after several former show employees began stepping forward. There were also a few celebrities tossing in allegations, including Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett. As more start to speak up, several shakeups have occurred behind the scenes as well. Warner Bros. will be consolidating their TV Studio by laying off hundreds of employees, including those who currently work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Television and its subsidiary Warner Horizon Scripted TV will merge to form the newly created Warner Bros. TV Scripted Division according to The Hollywood Reporter. As a result of this change, Telepictures — the division behind The Ellen DeGeneres Show — will be merging into the larger company, eventually eliminating exec Donna Reider Linsk’s position in the process. This process is forcing massive layoffs across the company with more than 600 people looking to lose their job in areas of redundancy.
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The news made shockwaves on Friday when WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced the removal of Bob Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly. However, it seems as though consolidation is becoming more of a thing across Hollywood as Disney consolidated ABC Signature with ABC Studios to form ABC Signature Studios on Monday.
DeGeneres has been the topic of conversation lately as Warner Bros. launched an investigation into the show’s alleged toxic work environment. Since her name made headlines in this light, people have been changing their views on the comedian who tells her audience to spread love and kindness every day. Recently, a video resurfaced from an episode in 2017 that fans are criticizing DeGeneres for. During the segment, the host placed several items from the gift shop on a free table, encouraging audience members to take one item only. However, little did everyone know there was a hidden camera and one woman was caught taking several items.
When DeGeneres called her out in an awkward moment, she sent the woman named Nancy to Ellen Jail. At the time, the audience laughed because the lady defended her actions by saying she was taking items to her sister who couldn’t make it, but DeGeneres showed no remorse, responding with, “Yeah, a lot of people’s sisters couldn’t come.” The woman was then hauled to a tall chair and forced to sit in isolation as a result of her actions.
DeGeneres reportedly sent an apology to her staff in July after reports, but some felt as if it wasn’t genuine. Nothing has been confirmed yet on whether DeGeneres will return with her show or if it will be canceled, but according to show producers, cancellation is not the plan as of now.
