The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been pulled from Australian TV following allegations of a ‘toxic’ workplace environment.
The US talk show has aired on Australia’s Channel Nine since 2013, but amid an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and workplace bullying on set, it was announced that repeats of the daytime show would be taken off air from Monday (24 August).
DeGeneres’s programme will be replaced with re-runs of Desperate Housewives, with the Australian network confirming that they were simply “resting Ellen repeats” rather than “axing” the show for good.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is currently making improvements in its production, with an email sent to staff on Thursday (13 August) stating that while not all of the anonymous allegations made against staff had been corroborated, the investigation had found some to be true.
“We are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management,” the statement read.
DeGeneres herself was not officially implicated in the allegations, but admitted to “letting the ball drop a bit”.
However, a number of ex-employees have accused the host of being “mean”, while one radio executive claimed he was told “not to look” at DeGeneres during a 2013 interview. DeGeneres denied these reports during a call with staff, branding them “crazy”.
Alongside a staffing reshuffle being taken to bring about change, employees were offered extended holiday and time off, while being told not to “be afraid” of returning to work.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is still scheduled to return for its 18th season in September with its long-standing host at the helm.
