After an investigation into the treatment of employees on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Ellen DeGeneres herself has written a letter of apology to her staff in which she claimed to “take responsibility,” Variety reported on Thursday.
“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,” DeGeneres wrote, according to Variety. “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.”
The statement from DeGeneres comes after a report from BuzzFeed earlier this month, in which current and former employees of the show claimed to have experienced racism and a toxic work environment on the set.
Following the BuzzFeed story, WarnerMedia (the parent company of Warner Bros., which airs “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) launched an investigation that will lead to “staffing changes,” according to NBC News.
“Though not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management,” WarnerMedia said in a statement, according to NBC.
Although no official changes have been announced yet, sources close to the show have said that executive producer Ed Glavin (who is one of the show’s three executive producers) will likely leave the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Some of the allegations that were made in the BuzzFeed report mentioned Glavin specifically, according to Variety.
“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,” DeGeneres wrote in the note to her staff, according to Variety. “Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
“My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that,” wrote DeGeneres.