Ellen DeGeneres ‘giggled’ when executive ‘screamed at staff on her talk show’

A former producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has claimed the host knew about ‘abuses’ happening on her chat show and once ‘giggled’ when one of her executives ‘screamed’ at staff.

Hedda Muskat worked behind the scenes of Ellen’s self-titled day time show when it first launched in 2003.

She has added to a growing number of former employees making allegations about the show which she says possessed a ‘culture of fear.’

Muskat claimed that she once saw executive producer Ed Glavin scream at a crew member.

She told The Wrap : “He just went off on them. His whole face turned red. We were stunned.

“I was waiting for Ellen to say something. ‘Whoa, Ed, don’t talk like that.’

“Do you know what she did? She giggled. She crossed her legs up on the chair and she said, ‘Well, I guess every production needs their dog’ … And from then we knew. Ed was going to be the barking dog – her dog.”

Muskat said the ‘toxic’ environment didn’t sit well with her. “I had never seen this before. I had never been around a toxic host,” she said.

The former producer claimed she was fired in May 2004 shortly after the show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award and replaced by someone with ‘less experience.’

After a number of allegations made by employees past and present over the last few weeks, host Ellen, 62, broke her silence to apologise.

She said: “On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case,” the talk show host said in a letter sent to staff Thursday. “And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”

Ellen spoke out after it was revealed the talk show was being investigated.

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