Ellen DeGeneres didn’t just run her show under an authoritarian-style rule; her home was apparently the same! (And there aren’t any producers she can offer up there!)
A source who used to work in the daytime diva’s California mansion told DailyMail.com the comedienne ran her household like a military-style boot camp by tormenting employees over small mistakes, “taking pleasure” in firing people, and even leaving “traps” for employees before she left for work.
The insider insisted that life at the Finding Dory star’s residence was just as traumatizing as the alleged “toxic culture” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as staffers were allegedly given an itemized daily list of tasks they did not perform to Ellen’s liking — like serving food in the wrong bowl, leaving the salt shaker in the wrong place, or failing to froth the star’s latte precisely the way she liked it.
Related: Mariah Carey Recalls ‘Extremely Uncomfortable’ Interview With Ellen
Referencing the slew of allegations that have come out about the talk show host behind the scenes of her long-running daytime program, the ex-staffer dished:
“My belief is that someone’s real personality comes out at home. So after everything that has been said about her at work, you can imagine how terrible Ellen is going to be at home when her guard is down. Sometimes she would yell at us but it was more about the incredibly condescending tone she would use. She treated you like you were nothing. She was going to torture you and you were just going to sit there and listen to it because you were being paid… Ellen was the worst person that I’ve ever met in my life. She takes pleasure in firing people.”
Yikes.
She also allegedly takes pleasure in playing games with her employees — and not the silly kinds of games she has guests play on her show.
The source claimed the 62-year-old would “lay traps” for her house staff before she left for work, strategically hiding matchsticks behind cupboard doors and cushions to see if her employees — who apparently rarely lasted more than a few months — were cleaning every inch of her mansion.
The ex-worker shared:
“Ellen is terribly obsessive compulsive and if anything is out of order in her environment she gets upset… The staff was getting better and better and making fewer mistakes but she couldn’t help herself so she would lay traps. She would actually leave matchsticks around the house, behind cupboard doors, cushions or books to see if the staff was cleaning and moving things. One day the staff found around eight of them, all in weird places. The rest of the day became a race to find them all before she got home and fired someone.”
Moreover, repairmen, security guards, and other contractors were also hesitant to come over to the house, the source adds, because Ellen would harshly criticize their work — despite her “be kind to one another” mantra.
The source added:
“One of the top security firms in Hollywood terminated their contract with her. Some of the criticisms I heard were that she didn’t like the way they walked. I’m not even kidding, she literally didn’t like the way they walked. Also how they opened and closed doors. She had multiple dogs and cats and she didn’t like the way they would walk through and not close them quickly enough.”
Interestingly enough, the source claimed that Ellen’s controlling attitude affected how her and wife Portia de Rossi’s beloved dogs behaved toward her, alleging:
“The dogs loved Portia and would jump up when she came home. The animals would barely get up when Ellen walked in.”
Now that says a lot!
As we’ve reported, Ellen will address the claims about her show when it returns this month. In fact, on Tuesday she confirmed as much in a statement, saying:
“I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio. And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it.”
Something tells us she isn’t going to talk about this.
What do U think about these latest claims, Perezcious readers?
[Image via ellen/YouTube]
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