In recent weeks, rumors about misconduct from Ellen DeGeneres and her top employees have made the leap from celebrity gossip to mainstream news.

The reports have come as a shock to fans who believed that Ellen's onscreen persona -- that of an ebullient do-gooder who lives to help those who are less fortunate -- was an accurate reflection of her behavior off camera.

Now, along with several of her staffers, DeGeneres is being investigated by WarnerMedia and Telepictures, the companies primarily responsible for her show's production and distribution.

There have been rumors of the Ellen show getting canceled, but thus far, it seems no official decision has been made.

Or at the very least, there's been no announcement from the powers that be.

In all likelihood, the show's fate hangs in the balance, and if Warner execs are still on the fence, this week's new allegations are likely to tip them in the direction of cancelation.

The latest accusations come from Hedda Muskat, a producer who was hired to work on the show back in 2003, when it was still in development.

In a new interview with The Wrap, Muskat (below) recalls a "culture of fear"  and claims that she was stripped of responsibilities -- and eventually her position -- so that her superiors could steal the credit from work.

"One day I get called into the office," Muskat told The Wrap.

"[Producer] Ed [Glavin] says to me, ‘You know, Hedda, we're really loving your segments. I don't know how you do it. We're going to need all your sources.' I've worked 18 years to build those sources. Those sources are why you hired me," she added.

"I felt a turn, that I was really on everybody's s--t list."

Muskat also recalled an incident in which Glavin savagely berated an underling in full view of the rest of the staff.

"He just went off on them," she alleged.

"His whole face turned red…We were stunned. You could just see everybody's faces go stiff. We're professionals; we're adults. We don't need a dog to get us to do our jobs." 

Glavin was one of three producers on DeGeneres' show who -- just last month -- responded to allegations of abusive behavior from other staffers:

"We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It's not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us," he wrote, in a statement co-signed by two other producers.

"For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen Show is completely on us," the statement continued.

"We take all of this very seriously and we realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better."

Thus far, Warner Bros. has issued only one terse statement in which the company's executives promise the necessary changes will be made to ensure that there's no further abuse of power on Ellen's set.

"It was important to both Warner Bros. and Ellen that as many people as possible attached to the program could be heard. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is, and has always strived to be, a place that brings positivity to the world," the statement read.

"And though not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management."

The company promised that "several staffing changes" will be made, before concluding:

"We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show."

Needless to say, those who claim they were mistreated are unlikely to be satisfied by that response.

We'll bring you updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.