In July 2020, BuzzFeed News published an investigation based on accounts from one current and 10 former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, describing a workplace marked by fear, racist comments from managers, and staff fired after taking time off for family emergencies. The report landed with particular force because it clashed with the show’s public identity, built around the slogan “be kind to one another,” which DeGeneres repeated at the end of nearly every episode since the show premiered in 2003. Within two weeks, a second investigation expanded the story dramatically. BuzzFeed News spoke with more than 85 current and former employees overall.
The second report focused on three senior producers: executive producer and head writer Kevin Leman, accused by more than 10 people of sexual harassment and groping; executive producer Ed Glavin, who faced five allegations of inappropriate touching; and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, accused by one former employee of grooming him before attempting a sexual act. Leman and Norman denied the allegations, and Glavin did not respond to requests for comment. No criminal charges were filed, and a court never tested the claims. On July 30, 2020, Warner Brothers released a statement saying its internal investigation found deficiencies in the daily management of the show, though not every allegation was confirmed.
That same day, DeGeneres sent an apology letter to staff, writing that she was sorry the workplace had failed to live up to its promise and that because her name was on the show, she took responsibility. On August 17, 2020, DeGeneres told staff on a video call that Leman, Glavin, and Norman were gone. Warner Brothers confirmed the show had parted ways with all three men. The two remaining executive producers named in the first report, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, stayed.
Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the show’s DJ, was promoted to co-executive producer. Kevin Leman’s attorney later said a “deeply flawed” article had led to the termination of an innocent man and described his client as devastated after being scapegoated. The controversy divided Hollywood. Brad Garrett and Lea Thompson said they believed the accounts.
Katy Perry and Ashton Kutcher defended DeGeneres. In September 2020, DeGeneres apologized on air to viewers and staff. Nine months later, in May 2021, she told Savannah Guthrie on Today that she did not really understand the allegations and that it all felt “too orchestrated, too coordinated,” a remark that many saw as undercutting her earlier apologies. The business consequences followed.
Advertisers pulled back, booking A-list guests became harder, and ratings dropped. In May 2021, DeGeneres announced the show would end, telling The Hollywood Reporter that it was no longer a creative challenge. The final episode aired in May 2022 after 19 seasons, more than 60 Emmy Awards, and more than 3,000 episodes. One former employee later told BuzzFeed News that the hardest part was pretending the show was anything other than a very complicated, unhappy story for many people.
In December 2022, Stephen “tWitch” Boss died at age 40. There is no evidence connecting his death to the workplace allegations, and his family and colleagues have spoken about him with deep affection. In late 2024, DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, moved to England, settling in the Cotswolds. That year, DeGeneres told a Netflix audience in her special For Your Approval that she had been kicked out of show business.
The farmhouse they bought was briefly listed for $30 million, then withdrawn from the market for undisclosed reasons. A separate legal matter remains active. In September 2025, a woman filed a lawsuit in California alleging that DeGeneres ran a stop sign in Santa Barbara County in October 2023 and hit her Tesla, causing serious injuries, wage loss, and emotional distress. DeGeneres has not publicly commented on the case.
A mediation was scheduled for December 9, 2025, but according to people involved, DeGeneres had not been served because she was living overseas. In early January 2026, process servers attempted to serve her on three consecutive days. On January 21, 2026, her legal team filed a request asking the court to invalidate the service, arguing that the attempts did not count as proper service. Speculation has also circulated online about a $90 million payout to a housekeeper, but that story is false.
No such payment exists. The actual record includes a dancer who received $30,000 after suing over a day of unpaid wages. DeGeneres’s personal fortune has been estimated at roughly $400 to $500 million, built from stand-up, her sitcom, 19 seasons of daytime television, endorsements, and profitable California real estate deals. The scandal ended her television career, but it did not meaningfully diminish her wealth.
Hundreds of staff members, including camera operators, writers, and researchers, lost their jobs when production ended. The full story is uncomfortable because it holds two facts at once: many people said they were harmed, and several named men lost their careers without a court testing the accusations against them. The false housekeeper story made the situation easier to sell. The true ending is quieter.
The woman who told America to be kind to one another each afternoon for 19 years now lives in rural England, while California has so far been unable to place legal papers into her hands.
