Over the past few months, Ellen DeGeneres has been accused by dozens of current and former employees of turning a blind eye to racism, intimidation, and sexual misconduct on the set of her talk show. Now, one of the executive producers on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is publicly admitting that it’s been “couple of rough months.”
Andy Lassner, a longtime executive producer of the show, took to Instagram on Sunday to post a video that he captioned, “I’ve missed my people
.”
“Oh look who it is. If it isn’t Andy Lassner,” he began in the video. “Well, yes it is. Your eyes do not deceive you. I’m back. I’ve been away for a little bit, dealing with — you know, some stuff. You may have read about it.
“It’s been a couple of rough months. But it’s when we go through these things, I guess, when we learn the most about ourselves, and maybe even some growth,” Lassner continued. “But to tell you it hasn’t been rough would be a lie, and I’ve always been honest with you. It’s been rough. But I’m back.”
This comes one month after Lassner hinted that he was struggling as he posted a video of him walking.
“I’ve been down, a little anxious, this is the best I’ve felt when I’m walking,” he said. “It helps me breathe, it helps me see nature. It helps me realize that the world is a lot bigger than my little brain. And sometimes I create bad scenarios in my head that aren’t based in reality.”
It’s been a disastrous few months for DeGeneres, as rumors of her negative behind the scenes behavior have continually run rampant. Three of her top producers were fired as the scandal intensified, and she finally addressed over 200 of her staffers in a Zoom call earlier this month. It was previously reported that DeGeneres broke down during this call as she admitted that she is “not perfect.”
She also said that she has realized that in the effort for the show to run as a “well-oiled machine,” sometimes leaders were not as sensitive to “human beings” as they should have been.
The seasoned talk show host reportedly went on to say that reading the disturbing allegations about the toxic atmosphere on the show was “heartbreaking.”
Despite everything that has happened, sources say that DeGeneres said many times on the call that she was “proud” of the show’s success, and that the program would “come back strong” next month.
“This will be the best season we’ve ever had,” DeGeneres said.
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