Ellen DeGeneres is reportedly “heartbroken” following staff redundancies on her popular chat show.
Earlier this week, Variety reported that CEO Jason Kilar sent a memo regarding the “difficult decision” to lay off employees, as WarnerMedia undergoes a restructuring.
An employee of the Ellen DeGeneres Show told BuzzFeed News that at least 17 people were laid off from the show’s digital team, with Ellen reportedly addressing the redundancies during a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
According to BuzzFeed, Ellen told staff on the call: “I obviously as am heartbroken as everybody, but we have to know that this is all for the good of Ellen Digital Ventures.”
“We need to keep this going because we have such a great team and we believe in y’all, and we will get through this just like we’ve gotten through all kinds of other things.
“Know that we believe in you and I know this is hard for y’all to hear, and we are here for you.”
Executive producer Andy Lassner reportedly said: “Obviously we all had a bit of a rough summer. Unfortunately, as you know from every company, digital and streaming has taken a big hit during COVID.
“The key thing for all of us is that we are moving forward. We need to show WarnerMedia that we are a group worth keeping and we believe in you and we believe that there is only good coming.”
The talk show host faced a lot of backlash in recent months, after a number of her current and former staff members alleged they were subjected to a “toxic work environment” while working on the show.
The controversy sparked an internal investigation by WarnerMedia, which resulted in the firing of her show’s top producers – Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman.
Ellen addressed the accusations on the premiere of season 18 back in September, stating that they had made the “necessary changes” to start a new chapter.
