Cancel culture since its inception in the late 2010s has abruptly ended the careers of some of the worlds most celebrities, from Kevin Spacey to R Kelly. Even fictional characters have been cancelled such as Apu from The Simpsons.
To be fair to proponent’s of cancel culture, these cancellations are all just. They were ranging from sexual assault allegations, rape convictions and culturally inappropriate depictions of characters.
2020 can add another Hollywood heavyweight to the list. A name we thought we would never see possibly cancelled. The icon that told us to “just keep swimming” and to “be kind to one another”. Yes, that’s right…ELLEN DEGENERES!
Ellen DeGeneres and her long-running day time talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show better known as ‘ellen’ is currently under an internal investigation by WarnerMedia after countless complaints and accusations of workplace drama coming to light by the staff of the show.
Countless employees took to media anonymously to oust the talk show queen for faking her entire persona. One former employee stated: “That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show.”
One former producer who was not scared to speak out and have her name attached to the claims was Hedda Muskat. Muskat, a former producer on the show, claimed that Ellen created a “culture of fear”. She highlighted one instance where Ed Glavin, a long time executive producer of the show, was screaming at an employee. According to Muskat, Ellen chose not to step in. Instead, she said: “Well, I guess every production needs their dog”. She was implying that Glavin was her barking dog to keep everyone in line.
The drama doesn’t stop there. Celebrity guests of the show have also come out claiming that Ellen was not as lovely as she appears, but instead was quite rude and in some cases mean.
NikkieTutorials a YouTube make up artist was a guest on the show and claimed that she was “greeted by an angry intern who was a bit overworked. I was expecting a Disney show but got Teletubbies After Dark.”
Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett who played Robert Barone on the critically acclaimed sitcom also gave his thoughts. He was a guest in 2004 and 2007 and claimed that the show fostered an environment of intimidation and fear.
Sorry but it comes from the top @TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge. DeGeneres Sends Emotional Apology to Staff – Variety https://t.co/D0uxOgyyre
— Brad Garrett (@RealBradGarrett) July 31, 2020
Celebrities claims are all well and good, but we can not forget who is the real victims of the Ellen experience. The staff of the show. The staff claims do not stop at workplace drama.
One ex-employee who chose to remain anonymous claimed that head writer and executive producer Kevin Leman asked if he could perform oral sex or give him a handjob in the bathroom at a company party in 2013.
Thirty-six other employees made the same claims corroborating with the claims that Leman and other producers were taking part in harassment and sexual misconduct at the workplace.
These allegations by former and current employees who work for and under Ellen, however, has not stopped her inner circle if you will, coming to her aid. Kevin Hart, Alec Baldwin, Jay Leno and Scooter Braun have all come to the aid of Ellen as if she was a wounded animal in need of help and not a multimillionaire who lives in a mansion.
Kevin Hart going as far as posting a photo of Ellen and him on Instagram with the caption: “The internet has become a crazy world of negativity… we are falling in love with peoples downfall.”
Look celebrities of Hollywood I understand that you want to defend one of your own. However Ellen, is not the victim, and for you to paint her as the victim is not only absurd; It is offensive to the amazing Ellen staff who have to go to work every day and be apart of this hostile work environment. A work environment that supposedly allows for bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct to take place.
It is unclear whether Ellen herself is partaking in these unfathomable actions. However, it is clear that she isn’t doing anything to stop them.
This whole debacle is not the internet cancelling your favourite celebrity. It is the internet being used to oust her for her horrible actions. If not as a perpetrator, then as a prominent enabler.
The employee-boss relationship is a complicated one. It is a relationship that celebrities like Kevin Hart, Alec Baldwin and the rest of the ragtag bunch who came to the defence of Ellen do not understand. Ellen is not her staffs’ celebrity friend. She is their boss. So why is it so hard for Hollywood to realise that maybe, just maybe…Ellen is a lousy boss.