Three top producers of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' fired over abuse allegations

Three top producers from The Ellen DeGeneres Show have been sacked after internal investigations into allegations of misconduct and abuse of current and former staff.

Here are all the details:

The producers and response by DeGeneres

A Warner Media spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman have “parted ways” with the show.

The show's staffers were informed on Monday during a video conference call with DeGeneres, who apologised to more than 200 employees for “letting the ball drop” and running the show “like a machine.”

“I care about each and every one of you. 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,” she said.

DeGeneres acknowledged that while the talk show ran like a well-oiled machine, many employees endured abuse at the hands of seniors.

“It's not a machine. This is people. These are human beings who are working hard every single day to put this show together. This show would not be what it is without all of you,” she said.

'Unfair dismissal' 

According to Variety, Leman's lawyer, Michael Plonsker, said his client was unfairly dismissed from the show.

“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 DeGeneres Show and a string of other projects produced with DeGeneres is shocking. Kevin Leman is devastated by being scapegoated and is not yet ready to comment,” he said.

What are the allegations? 

BuzzFeed published two damning reports last month about the alleged abuse and mistreatment of staff on the show. It reported that 47 former and current employees implicated the three top producers in allegations of sexual misconduct, racially insensitive comments and abuse.

A former employee said Leman asked if he could perform sex acts on him during a company party in 2013. Another said they saw him grab a production assistant's penis. Leman dismissed the allegations at the time, and said he has always aimed to treat all employees with “kindness, inclusivity and respect”.

Resident DJ promoted to co-executive producer

Fox News reported that Stephen “tWitch' Boss” was promoted on Monday as the show's co-executive producer. Boss was a resident DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for six years.