Ellen DeGeneres' Note to Staff About Show Firings Leaks: 'I'm Not Perfect'

The Ellen DeGeneres Show fired three of its executive producers after allegations of sexual [...]

By Kyle Phillippi

The Ellen DeGeneres Show fired three of its executive producers after allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and a toxic work environment first surfaced near the end of July. Variety was the first to learn that Warner Bros. let go of Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman. The Hollywood Reporter then obtained the letter DeGeneres wrote to the staff about the firings that took place. All of this was said to have gone down during a meeting on Monday.

In her letter, DeGeneres first apologized again for what has transpired and that it has been far from the "well-oiled machine" she had assumed it was all of these years. "I'm not perfect," DeGeneres then wrote, adding that she is "multi-layered" and is someone who can learn from their mistakes. Previously mentioning that this show upon its creation intended to create a workplace that people enjoyed to be at, DeGeneres circled back on that by saying that she cares about all of her employees and that she is "grateful" for all of them.

This note comes as the likelihood of changes and firings appeared imminent. DeGeneres mentioned this during her first apology note to staff, and with the studio launching an investigation into the allegations that were first mentioned in a Buzzfeed article, the rumors of producers being axed remained rampant up until Monday's official release. With three producers out of the fold, that leaves DeGeneres at the helm along with other EPs, Mary Connely, Andy Lassner and Derek Westervelt. Variety also shared in its exclusive that the new season will still be premiering in September but that its date has been pushed back one week.

Over the past few weeks, old interviews on the show have begun to resurface as viewers are now watching them with a different eye. An example of this is her sit-down with Priyanka Chopra from the beginning of 2019. In it, the two go back-and-forth about whether or not DeGeneres received a wedding invite for her and Nick Jonas' wedding, to which Chopra ends up saying she did send one and that the host never responded, leading to an all-around awkward exchange that seemed funny and light-hearted at first but has since been viewed in a different light in the wake of claims of DeGeneres' character. A former audience member also spoke up, claiming that DeGeneres would shift personalities in between breaks during taping.

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