Ellen DeGeneres vows to 'talk about' toxic workplace allegations in return to TV
When she returns to set later this month, Ellen DeGeneres has promised to address much-publicized accusations that her talk show had become a toxic workplace.
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" will return for season 18 on Sept. 21.
Filming will resume on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles, but there will be no in-studio audience due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"I can't wait to get back to work and back to our studio," DeGeneres said in a statement Tuesday, before alluding to the allegations. "And, yes, we're gonna talk about it."
In July, Buzzfeed News published allegations of abuse from current and former "Ellen DeGeneres Show" employees, with most of them placing the blame on executive producers and other senior staffers.
An internal investigation from Warner Bros. confirmed "some deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management," and DeGeneres apologized to her employees. She also promised to "do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow."
"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 a letter to her staff this summer. "Clearly some didn't. That will now change and I'm committed to ensuring this does not happen again."
Three senior-level producers of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" departed the show following the investigation.
For the new season, Tiffany Haddish is set to be the show's first in-studio guest, followed by premiere week appearances by Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin and Chrissy Teigen. Guests this season will also include Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler and Orlando Bloom.
