NEWSEllen DeGeneres' Wife Portia de Rossi Breaks Her Silence, ‘I Stand By Ellen’
Portia de Rossi is sticking up for her wife Ellen DeGeneres after multiple reports have come out claiming a “toxic” work environment on DeGeneres' daytime talk show.
The couple married in August 2008 in an intimate ceremony, announcing the news of their wedding immediate after the law banning same-sex marriage was struck down by California’s Supreme Court.
As previously reported on OK!, DeGeneres, 62, responded to the allegations and issued an apology to the staff members of her show.
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She penned a lengthy memo to her employees on Thursday saying "My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that," she wrote. "Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. 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. Clearly some didn't. That will now change and I'm committed to ensuring this does not happen again."
DeGeneres goes on to promise to do her “part” in pushing herself and those around her “to learn and grow.”
"We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I'm glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention," she said. "I promise to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow. It's important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so."
De Rossi, 47, on Monday broke her silence and posted support for DeGeneres on Instagram.
"To all our fans....we see you. Thank you for your support," de Rossi captioned her post, adding the hashtags #stopbotattacks, #IStandWithEllenDeGeneres, #IStandByEllen, #IstandByEllenDeGeneres and #bekindtooneanother, the phrase with which DeGeneres closes out her show each day.
It is unclear exactly what De Rossi means when it comes to her saying #stopbotattacks.
The Ellen show’s parent company Warner Bros. also released a statement on Thursday that said "dozens of current and former employees" had been interviewed, and that they were "disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management."
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In the future, Warner Bros. ensured they have "identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them."
"Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres are all committed to ensuring a workplace based on respect and inclusion. We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show," the statement concluded.
After Buzzfeed News published an article with accounts from former Ellen staffers alleging claims of a toxic work environment. With one former staffer even stating “That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show.”
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Executive producers for the talk show, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, issued a joint statement addressing the issues, saying “we are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us.”
