Ellen DeGeneres has been hosting her show for over a decade, but sources claim that guests are being told to stroke her ego on air.
Ellen DeGeneres Show has been put under internal investigation after several employees came forward and complained about its toxic workplace. Meanwhile, new sources spoke about how the producers ordered the guests to compliment her when they appeared on the show.
Ellen DeGeneres Show guests gushed over her
Ellen DeGeneres is having a hard year. During the lockdown, several shared their not-so-kind encounter with her. She was even dubbed “the Queen of Mean.”
Two guests who wished to remain anonymous stepped out and shared their experience on the show. According to them, while they were preparing for the interview, the producers demanded them to stroke Ellen’s ego by complimenting her.
“Compliment Ellen, tell her what a big fan you are,” the guests recalled what they were told as quoted by Page Six.
“These guests were already fans of Ellen, big fans, but to be told you have to flatter her was really weird. You shouldn’t have to be told … If you do look at past interviews, most of the guests always gush over Ellen — whether they’re members of the public or her close friends,” one source said.
The outlet noted that there is no evidence DeGeneres was aware of it or insisted on it.
Ellen made bizarre requests
Meanwhile, a TV show producer shared that Ellen DeGeneres made “bizarre” demands when she appeared on Australia’s Today in 2013. Her staff called and told the production what she wanted to happen once she’s there.
“[Ellen DeGeneres’] producers called us aside … and said, ‘Now, Neil, no one is to talk to Ellen. You don’t talk to her, you don’t approach her, you don’t look at her,'” Neil Breen said this week on radio station 4BC.
“‘She’ll come in, she’ll sit down, she’ll talk to Richard and then Ellen will leave.’ And I sort of said, ‘I can’t look at her?’ I found the whole thing bizarre,” Breen added.
Breen never had the chance to meet Ellen DeGeneres up close, so he couldn’t say a thing if she was nice. However, he noticed that those with her were walking on eggshells the whole time.
Ellen’s friends ignoring her?
Ellen DeGeneres’ circle of friends includes a number of A-listers like Jennifer Aniston, Justin Timberlake, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and more. However, many noticed that none of them speak up to defend her from a string of controversies involving her.
“Ellen has gained a reputation as a friend to the stars, but A-listers would have to take great risks to publicly defend the show,” a source told The Sun.
“The explosion of the #MeToo movement has really shone a light on workplace conduct in Holly- wood. Studios are under pressure to change the culture.”
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