Ellen DeGeneres calls no eye contact rumours ‘crazy’ in new apology to TV staff

US TV host also called herself a ‘multi-layered person’ and pledged to have more interaction with her employees, reports claim

Ellen DeGeneres has called herself a “multi-layered person” and addressed rumours that she dislikes eye contact in a new apology to her TV show staff.

DeGeneres led a Zoom call to her staff yesterday (17 August), where she confirmed that three of her show’s top producers have exited their jobs following the findings of an internal investigation. The Ellen DeGeneres Show was the subject of a series of allegations involving racism, sexual misconduct and bullying behind the scenes. DeGeneres herself was not implicated in any of the allegations.

In the call, DeGeneres said that claims she had ordered staff not to look her in the eye were “crazy” and “not true”, sources told Deadline. She did, however, call herself an “introvert”, and someone who requires her own space.

“Does that mean I’m perfect? No, I’m not,” DeGeneres reportedly said. “I’m a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and try to learn from my mistakes.”

Sources also claimed to The Hollywood Reporter that DeGeneres vowed to interact with her staff more often, and apologised for overlooking the problems that have occurred on the show.

“I care about each and every one of you,” DeGeneres reportedly said. “I am grateful for each and every one of you. I feel like I’ve kind of let the ball drop a bit because I’m focused on the show, I go in and I do the show, and I’ve just let everybody do their jobs – to run different departments. And it just became a well-oiled machine, and I think that is the problem. It’s not a machine. This is people. These are human beings that are working hard every single day to put this together. This show would not be what it is without all of you.”

DeGeneres also confirmed that three of her show’s top producers, Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman, would be leaving the series. Her resident DJ, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, would also be promoted to the role of co-executive producer.

Ellen DeGeneres in 2019 (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)

In a statement, Leman’s attorney Michael Plonsker said that his client was “innocent” of the allegations made against him in an article for BuzzFeed.

“The fact that a deeply flawed BuzzFeed article has led to the termination of an innocent man – a popular figure and a creative force behind the Ellen show and a string of other projects produced with Ellen – is shocking,” Plonsker said. “Kevin is devastated by being scapegoated and is not yet ready to comment.”

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Yesterday (17 August), DeGeneres’ ex-girlfriend Anne Heche urged people to “listen” to those who have made allegations about her ex.