‘Ellen Degeneres Show’ under investigation after complaints about work culture: report

Warner Media and an outside firm are reportedly investigating allegations that racist and otherwise abusive behavior is commonplace behind the scenes of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Variety reported Monday that the investigation was announced to show staffers in a memo from Warner Bros. Television and Telepictures, the show’s production company. The company declined to comment when contacted by Variety.

The exact allegations being examined were unclear, but the memo follows the publication in BuzzFeed News of claims of racist comments and other abusive behavior from nearly a dozen current and former employees.

The show’s executive producers previously released a joint statement pledging to improve workplace conditions after the BuzzFeed report was published.

“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,” they said.

“For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and we realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better.”