The Ellen DeGeneres Show producer Andy Lassner has opened up about a “rough couple of months” amid allegations of a toxic work environment.
The chat show host has faced a lot of backlash in recent months, as a number of her current and former staff members have alleged they were subjected to a “toxic work environment” while working on the show.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, Andy shared a video where he admitted he had been dealing with “some stuff”.
“Oh, look who it is. If it isn’t Andy Lassner. Well, yes it is. Your eyes do not deceive you,” he said, “I’m back. I’ve been away for a little bit dealing with, you know, some stuff. You may have read about it.”
“But it’s when we go through these things, I guess, that we learn the most about ourselves and maybe even some growth,” he added.
“But to tell you it hasn’t been rough would be a lie, and I’ve always been honest with you. So, it’s been rough.
“But I’m back, I’ve been walking and I will now be walking for you guys again because, I mean, let’s face it, what is life when you’re not slow walking with Andy?” he said, referring to his “slow walking” program from the show.
“Anyways, I love you guys, I miss ya and I’ll talk to you soon.”
The allegations of toxicity sparked an internal investigation by WarnerMedia, which resulted in the firing of her show’s top producers – Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman.
WarnerMedia is reportedly nearing the end of its investigation, with Ellen recently apologising to her staff for “hurting their feelings”.
According to PEOPLE, Ellen told employees she “wasn’t perfect” during an emotional video conference last month.
“I’m a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and I try to learn from my mistakes,” she told them.
“I’m hearing that some people felt that I wasn’t kind or too short with them, or too impatient. I apologize to anybody if I’ve hurt your feelings in any way.”
An insider added: “Ellen was emotional, she was emphatic about making it better and making herself more available.”
“She acknowledged she can be introverted at times and she apologized if that was ever seen as hurtful.”
“They’re putting in real structures and resources for people so this never happens again and that is extremely important to Ellen. She was emotional seeing everybody. They’re family.”
Another source said Ellen told staff that “she’s been dying to see them, that she couldn’t because of the investigation and she really wanted them to hear from her that this is a reset, things are changing and things are going to be better moving forward. And she’s committed to that.”
