‘Love you for life’: Kevin Hart defends Ellen DeGeneres amid toxic workplace scandal… as he joins stars Katy Perry, Diane Keaton and Portia de Rossi sticking up for the embattled host
- Kevin Hart is the latest in a slim line of celebrities to show support for embattled TV host Ellen DeGeneres amid her ‘toxic’ workplace scandal
- Ellen, 62, is currently facing an investigation over allegations of racism, bullying, as well as fostering a ‘toxic environment’ behind the scenes
- Kevin, 41, posted a statement to Instagram Tuesday stating that Ellen had treated his family and his team with nothing but ‘love and respect’
- The actor appeared to be returning the favor as Ellen was one of the few stars to stick up for him when he received backlash last year over old homophobic tweets
- Kevin joins stars Katy Perry, Diane Keaton, Portia de Rossi and actor Jerry O’Connell who have spoken out in support of Ellen
- Last Thursday, Ellen sent a memo to her staff where she said she was ‘taking steps to correct issues’
Kevin Hart is the latest celebrity to stick up for embattled talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who is currently facing an investigation over allegations of racism, bullying, as well as fostering a ‘toxic environment’ behind the scenes of her hit talk show.
‘It’s crazy to see my friend go thru what she’s going thru publicly,’ Hart, 41, wrote on his Instagram account Tuesday, alongside a picture of the pair on her show. ‘I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly say that she’s one of the dopest people on the f*****g planet.’
It appears Hart is returning a favor to DeGeneres, 62, who was one of the few stars to publicly defend him last year, amid his backlash, when his past homophobic comments resurfaced after he was announced as the Oscars host.
‘Love you for life’: Kevin Hart joins the slim line of stars sticking up for embattled talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres in a gushing Instagram post on Tuesday
While Hart maintained that his post was not ‘meant to disregard the feelings of others and their experiences’ he stressed that DeGeneres has ‘treated my family and my team with love and respect from day 1.’
Hart also seemed to call for the end of ‘cancel culture’, writing: ‘The internet has become a crazy world of negativity….we are falling in love with peoples down fall. It’s honestly sad…When did we get here? I stand by the ones that I know and that I love.’
DeGeneres received backlash last January, when she invited Hart on her daytime chat show in an attempt to play peacemaker between the comedian and the Academy Awards, after he stepped down as the Oscars host when his past homophobic tweets had resurfaced online.
Friends: Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko Parrish is pictured with Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi at the People’s Choice Awards in 2017
The TV mogul defended Hart against him being ‘cancelled’ on Twitter, in a similar experience to what she is currently facing now, albeit for different reasons.
Meanwhile, the actor is the latest in a slim line of celebrities who are speaking out in support of DeGeneres, after pop star Katy Perry also spoke Tuesday about her positive experiences with the host.
The pregnant singer, 35, took to Twitter to praise the broadcaster’s ‘continual fight for equality’ and insisted she had ‘only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen and on the show’.
Her stance: Katy Perry has also insisted that she had ‘only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen and on the show’ in an impassioned statement
‘Sending you love & a hug, friend’: Katy Perry has thrown her support behind her industry friend Ellen DeGeneres amid her workplace scandal (pictured on her talk show in 2017)
Perry wrote: ‘1/2 I know I can’t speak for anyone else’s experience besides my own but I want to acknowledge that I have only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen & on the @theellenshow.’
The Firework hitmaker added: ‘I think we all have witnessed the light & continual fight for equality that she has brought 2/2 to the world through her platform for decades.
‘Sending you love & a hug, friend @TheEllenShow.’ (sic)
Showing support: Actress Diane Keaton has also supported DeGeneres by saying, ‘I always enjoyed my visits to The Ellen Show… She gives back to so many including me.’
Kindness counts: The Arrested Development star who has been married to Ellen for 12 years, shared a graphic that read ‘I stand by Ellen’ on social media
Diane Keaton also supported DeGeneres by saying, ‘I always enjoyed my visits to The Ellen Show… She gives back to so many including me.’
Actor Jerry O’Connell posted on his Instagram Monday: ‘Love Ellen and Portia,’ adding: ‘Always have. Always will.’
Earlier in the week, DeGeneres’s wife Portia de Rossi broke silence on the scandal as she thanked fans for ‘standing’ with the TV icon.
The Arrested Development actress, 47, shared a graphic that read ‘I stand by Ellen’ on social media, alongside the caption: ‘To all our fans….we see you. Thank you for your support.’
Candid: The British artist, 42, wrote: ‘Unpopular opinion: I’ve worked for @TheEllenShow as a dj, for her parties, for years and she has ALWAYS been respectful and kind to me.’ (sic)
‘It’s disappointing’: Sam responded to social media users who noted the way Ellen treated her was not reflective of the way she behaved toward those of a lower profile
Her hashtags continued to send a message, reading: ‘#stopbotattacks, #IStandWithEllenDeGeneres, #IStandByEllen, and #IstandByEllenDeGeneres.’ (sic)
de Rossi, who has been married to DeGeneres for 12 years, also added ‘#bekindtooneanother,’ which is how DeGeneres closes every episode of her show.
DJ Samantha Ronson has also publicly stuck up for the embattled star as she took to Twitter on Monday.
His experience: The stand-up star, 60, said: ‘Sorry but it comes from the top @TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge.’ (sic)
She wrote: ‘Unpopular opinion: I’ve worked for @TheEllenShow as a dj, for her parties, for years and she has ALWAYS been respectful and kind to me.’ (sic)
The British artist, 42, responded to social media users who noted the way DeGeneres treated her – a member of the famous Ronson family – was not reflective of the way she behaved toward those of a lower profile.
‘I knew this was coming, but you’d be surprised by how many people are super rude when you become someone they are writing a cheque to,’ she said. ‘It’s super disappointing.’
Last week, Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands shared his thoughts on the matter, claiming the accusations recently levelled against Ellen by staff were ‘a bit unfair’.
BULLYING, RACISM AND A ‘TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT’: THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ELLEN
Ten former and one current member of Ellen’s staff alleged they were bullied, fired for attending family funerals or taking sick leave, while one woman claimed to have walked off the job after facing comments about her race.
‘That ‘be kind’ bulls*** only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show,’ one anonymous staff member said.
Staff said they were told not to talk to DeGeneres herself while she was on set, and that the day-to-day running of the show was left to producers.
The employees said they did not have first-hand experience of DeGeneres being unpleasant, but said she needs to take more responsibility for how her employees are treated.
However, allegations have mounted from other sources against the host herself – sparked by a Twitter thread from comedian Kevin T. Porter
Calling DeGeneres ‘notoriously one of the meanest people alive’, he asked people for ‘the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean’.
The tweet received 2,600 replies and saw Porter give $600 to an LA foodbank, after promising to donate $2 for every legitimate mean story.
Claims included that staff are required to chew gum before speaking to her because of her ‘sensitive nose’, and that she polices staff lunch orders and bans anyone from eating fish or meat.
Separately, security worker Tom Majercak – who was assigned to be Ellen’s bodyguard at the 2014 Oscars – said she was ‘sly’ and ‘demeaning’ to him.
‘Ellen is the one person that I’ve been assigned to – and I’ve been assigned to quite a few celebrities – that has never taken the time to say hi to me,’ he said.
‘She’s not the person she portrays to be that she’s playing off of society.’
Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Friday, the 49-year-old said: ‘You know what these things are like… It’s never the star that goes on and insists these things happen. It’s always the idiots that are around them.
‘Producers mainly, publicists, they’ve really got an attitude problem. And I know what they’re trying to do. The publicists, they make these stars look like a***holes, and not on purpose.’
Comedian Brad Garrett, meanwhile, alleged mistreatment on the show ‘comes from the top’.
In a bold Twitter post, the stand-up star, 60, said: ‘Sorry but it comes from the top @TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge.’ (sic)
Although the voice actor was a six-time guest on series between 2004 and 2007, he didn’t list any specific allegation against the comedian.
Lea Thompson backed his statement as she said in response: ‘True story. It is.’ (sic)
Late last month, Ellen wrote a substantial memo to her employees, saying that she and Warner Bros. are ‘taking steps, together, to correct the issues.’
One current and ten former employees of the daytime chat show accused its three executive producers, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, of ‘bullying.’
The executive producers issued a statement saying: ‘We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience.’
Lassner also tweeted: ‘Nobody is going off the air.’
Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer, is alleged to have ‘groomed’ a former employee by taking him to concerts and showering him with other gifts and perks before attempting to perform oral sex on him.
Kevin Leman, the show’s head writer and executive producer, is alleged to have solicited oral sex from an employee. Others say they witnessed Leman grope another colleague.
And Ed, an executive producer, allegedly ‘had a reputation for being handsy with women,’ according to former employees.
Leman and Norman have denied all allegations. Glavin has not addressed the claim publicly yet but is stepping down from his position, according to Variety.
Warner Bros., the studio that runs the show, has declined to comment on the sexual harassment allegations, citing an ongoing internal investigation.
Ellen said she was ‘taking steps… to correct’ issues with her employees in the staff-wide memo from last week.
‘On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry,’ Ellen said in the memo.
‘As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t,’ she added. ‘That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.’
But multiple staff members at the show tell DailyMail.com they are not buying Ellen’s apology and are calling on her to call it quits.
One staffer said, ‘She’s only addressing this now because the publicity is so bad for her and her BS brand of happiness and kindness. Ellen can throw everyone else under the bus, but the buck stops with her.
‘Whenever she’d tell viewers to choose kindness, I’d throw up a little in my mouth because she always chose the opposite,’ they added.
Among the allegations was one made by a black woman who claimed she suffered a number of ‘microaggressions,’ her request for a raise was ignored and she was accused of ‘walking around looking resentful and angry’ after asking for staff members to undergo diversity and inclusion training.
Another former employee alleged they were fired after taking medical leave for one month following a suicide attempt.
Our source said: ‘She was happy to put her name on the show, yet she let those three executive producers do whatever they wanted. The fish rots from the head and Ellen and the three of them are now rotting.’
They also claimed Ellen and her executive producers will be on a ‘witch hunt’ now to find who spoke out against them.
‘Don’t think for a second that there won’t be a witch hunt to find out who went public with the worst kept secret in television,’ they said. ‘Ellen is mean. She’ll want vengeance for all of this coming out.’
Ellen DeGeneres’ memo to her staff addressing mistreatment allegations
Hey everybody — it’s Ellen. On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen Degeneres Show would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.
I could not have the success I’ve had without all of your contributions. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.
I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop. As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or — worse — disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me. It’s been way too long, but we’re finally having conversations about fairness and justice.
We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I’m glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention. I promise to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow. It’s important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so.
I am so proud of the work we do and the fun and joy we all help put out in the world. I want everyone at home to love our show and I want everyone who makes it to love working on it. Again, I’m so sorry to anyone who didn’t have that experience. If not for COVID, I’d have done this in person, and I can’t wait to be back on our stage and see you all then. Stay safe and healthy.
Love, Ellen
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