In the aftermath of various allegations against producers, The Ellen DeGeneres Show continues to be a hotbed of controversy. Since the reports first surfaced, many celebrities have spoken up both in favor of and against DeGeneres. This includes former employees like DJ Tony Okungbowa, who admitted that he’s appreciative of his time on the show but did feel the “toxicity of the environment.” Now, the current DJ, tWitch, is speaking out in regard to the claims from former and current employees.
Stephen “tWitch” Boss had been relatively silent about the allegations surrounding The Ellen DeGeneres Show but, during a recent interview, he finally spoke out. While Boss admitted to Us Weekly that he was legally unable to say much, he seemed to acknowledge that there are things that need to be addressed. However, he stated that “there’s been love” throughout the situation:
We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love. Obviously there’s some things to address, but from my standpoint and from countless others, there’s been love. I’ll just leave it at that until there’s a time where we can address more publicly. There’s been love and there’ll will continue to be love.
An alum of So You Think You Can Dance, tWitch originally began appearing as a guest DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2014. Since then, he’s become staple within the series.
As of right now, tWitch is one of the few high-profile crew members to publicly offer any comment on the long-running talk show’s current situation. Executive producer Andy Lassner also spoke out on social media, saying that the show would not be taken off the air. WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has also confirmed that the company is still “fully supportive” of Ellen DeGeneres.
The last few months have seen Ellen receive numerous complaints from its staff, which started in April when crew members alleged that they were not receiving adequate compensation during the show’s remote period. Months later, former and current employees claimed that producers had created a toxic work culture. And shortly after, more reports from employees alleged that some of the show’s top execs had engaged in sexual misconduct. As of right now, the show is currently undergoing an internal investigation by a third-party company.
None of the allegations were targeted at Ellen DeGeneres herself, but many employees feel that she should have taken more responsibility for her workplace. DeGeneres has since spoken out on the allegations, acknowledging that she hasn’t kept up with the behind-the-scenes culture of her show as well as she could have. With this, she’s promised to help create change moving forward.
At this point, it’s unclear as to when the internal investigation will be completed. And while it doesn’t appear that WarnerMedia has any plans to cease production on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it could be assumed that some changes will be made once production ramps back up again.
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