Yahoo Finance Jay Leno Backs Ellen DeGeneres Amid Show’s Toxic Workplace Allegations; Rachel Bloom, Ashton Kutcher and Diane Keaton Weigh In
Tweeting about his friendship with Ellen DeGeneres, late-night TV legend Jay Leno joined a growing number of industry figures voicing support for the television talk show host.
“I don’t discard a 40-year friendship on hearsay. The Ellen I know has raised over $125 million dollars for charity and has always been a kind and decent person,” Leno tweeted Tuesday. “I fully support her.”
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Throughout his time as Tonight Show host in the 90s and early aughts, Leno welcomed DeGenres as a guest multiple times. Years later, the Ellen host returned the favor inviting him to appear on her self-titled daytime show.
His message of support comes after Buzzfeed published a story in which former Ellen employees recalled their time behind the scenes. The former talk show workers said they experienced bullying, intimidation and racially charged microaggressions from top bosses. Warner Bros. launched an internal investigation after Buzzfeed released the story.
Also weighing in on the subject was Ashton Kutcher, who tweeted about his experiences with the Finding Dory star and her show.
“She & her team have only treated me & my team w/ respect & kindness. She never pandered to celebrity which I always saw as a refreshing honesty,” he wrote. “When things aren’t right she handles and fixes.”
Something to Give star Diane Keaton shared a photo of herself on DeGenres’ talk show to Instagram accompanied by a caption in support for the talk show host.
“I always enjoyed my visits to the Ellen show. I’ve seen how the audience exudes happiness and gratitude,” Keaton wrote. “She gives back to so many including me.”
Not everyone in the industry, however, explicitly supports DeGeneres. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom also went to social media to voice her concerns about the issue. The actress said that the experiences people have either behind or in front of the camera on TV shows can vary greatly.
“Having a good time being a guest does not necessarily have anything to do with the experiences of the employees,” Bloom said in a Twitter thread. “I’m not saying this to put anyone on blast, I just wanted to offer my POV as someone who’s had the amazing fortune to experience both worlds.”
Other Hollywood players who have added to the conversation include DeGeneres’ wife Portia de Rossi, Vance DeGeneres and former Ellen DJ Tony Okungbowa.
I don’t discard a 40-year friendship on hearsay. The Ellen I know has raised over $125 million dollars for charity and has always been a kind and decent person. I fully support her. Jay Leno pic.twitter.com/b3i283YIBk
— Jay Leno (@jayleno) August 4, 2020
I haven’t spoken with @TheEllenShow and can only speak from my own experience. She & her team have only treated me & my team w/ respect & kindness. She never pandered to celebrity which I always saw as a refreshing honesty. When things aren’t right she handles it and fixes.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) August 5, 2020
A post shared by Diane Keaton (@diane_keaton) on Aug 4, 2020 at 10:55am PDT
Just wanna say that I have both worked behind the scenes of tv shows and been the celebrity guest on them and the two experiences are very different. Having a good time being a guest does not necessarily have anything to do with the experiences of the employees.
— Rachel Bloom (@Racheldoesstuff) August 4, 2020
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