Media executive Neil Breen revealed the bizarre experience he had with Ellen DeGeneres on Australia’s Today show in 2013.
At the time, Breen was Today‘s executive producer, and Ellen DeGeneres came to Australia to do her show. They partnered with the famed host, but everything went downward spiral when they interviewed her instead.
The demands of the Ellen show staff members
On his radio show 4BC Breakfast with Neil Breen, he revealed they initially planned to have Portia de Rossi’s partner as the show’s co-host. However, as she was about to do this and that, they ended up doing a sit-down interview instead.
Breen and his team went to Australia at their own expense to film the 62-year-old comedian’s interview with Richard Wilkins.
“Because it’s the Ellen show, they controlled everything,” he said, per Us Weekly. “They controlled the interview seats, the lights, how it would work, everything.”
The producers then called them aside and told them how the interview would work. DeGeneres would arrive on set at 10:15 and would sit in the designated chair.
They also chose where Wilkins would sit and told Breen no one would “talk to DeGeneres.”
“You don’t talk to her, you don’t approach her, you don’t look at her,” the producers said. “She’ll come in, she’ll sit down, she’ll talk to Richard, and then Ellen will leave.”
Breen found the whole setup “bizarre.” However, he cleared that he’s not blaming DeGeneres for her staff’s demands.
“I didn’t get to talk to her. I wasn’t allowed to,” he continued. So, he had no idea if DeGeneres was a nice person or not. “I wouldn’t have a clue,” he said.
But Breen assured that people who worked with DeGeneres “walked on eggshells the whole time.”
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An internal investigation that could lead to the show’s downfall
Lately, there are several accusations made against DeGeneres and her producers about the alleged toxic environment on the show’s set.
This even led to an internal investigation into The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In an article BuzzFeed News published, one current and ten former employees claimed bullying and racism were happening on set.
Reputation Management Consultants chairman Eric Schiffer revealed the investigation’s result could have “deadly consequences for” DeGeneres and her brand.
“She could be perpetrating one of the biggest frauds in American celebrity history,” he said, per Fox News. “There are now serious investigators looking into the allegations.”
“If the findings are as damning as what has been reported, then you could watch the Ellen Show go boom,” he explained about Ellen DeGeneres’ show.
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