Part of Ellen’s campaign to save her show has included giving new employment perks to staffers to lessen their misery.
But amidst the current scandal, some networks are already pulling her broadcasts with no concrete plans to resume airing them.
Australia’s Channel Nine network is no longer airing The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
WB’s internal investigation into the show’s reportedly toxic atmosphere is ongoing.
But Channel Nine confirmed this week that viewers will no longer see Ellen’s talkshow as part of their lineup.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been airing in Australia on Channel Nine since 2013.
On August 24, repeate episodes were removed from the episode lineup.
Allegations on the set include racism, bullying, and sexual misconduct, and Channel Nine says that they are taking that seriously.
“We are resting Ellen repeats on Nine,” a network spokesperson confirmed “and have replaced with Desperate Housewives.”
That is a wild programming choice — a scripted drama with no conceptual overlap with a daytime talk show.
However, repeats of Ellen’s show will continue to air on the network’s digital sister channel, 9Gem.
Programming director Hamish Turner isn’t promising that viewers will ever again see Ellen on their network, even after hiatus.
“Do we have rights beyond this year? The answer to that is no,” Turner reportedly said.
“We’ll wait to hear from Warner Brothers as to the results of their internal inquiry,” Turner added.
Turner explained waiting and seeing “because at the moment, they haven’t even come forward with what the show is, or when it might go back into production.”
“We’re waiting to see what the U.S. are doing,” Turner stated, “and then obviously we’ll need to negotiate rates.”
“There’s a lot to go under the bridge before we even get to that stage,” Turner emphasized. “We haven’t got a clear picture yet.”
Wave after wave of both current and former employees of Ellen’s show have come forward.
They have described toxic behavior from leadership on the show, characterizing the vibe on set as a “culture of fear.”
Many of the people discussing this are seasoned professionals who know the difference between a high-pressure television job and what they experienced working under Ellen.
Over the summer, three high-level producers were fired amidst claims of sexual misconduct.
But kicking Ed Glavin, Jonathan Norman, and Kevin Leman to the curb only addresses part of the reported problems.
Employees have described a work culture where producers might be yelled at, humiliated, or fired if they asked to be treated like human beings.
Ellen has attempted to reassure employees that things will get better.
The show is implementing changes and has recently given employees new “perks” — benefits common to some jobs but unusual for TV crew members.
However, some employees are unmoved, because they believe that part of the problem since the show’s inception has been Ellen herself.
Ellen has a reputation among members of the service industry for being, well, a terror — if you catch her in the wrong mood.
Some servers describe encounters where Ellen tried to get them suspended or fired for perceived flaws, like chipped nail polish. Others describe her as charming and funny.
Sometimes, those servers are one and the same — marveling at how differently she behaved between encounters.
It is entirely possible that, at the end of this investigation into Ellen’s show, she will go on.
She will likely air a very special episode on the subject or at least a segment to discuss the changes made.
It is our hope that it is not all talk, and that there will be real changes on every level to ensure that no one’s mental or emotional health suffers over how they are treated at work.
