Yahoo News Ellen DeGeneres Show star DJ Tony says he felt "toxicity" on set
The Ellen DeGeneres Show's former DJ Tony Okungbowa has said that he felt a "toxicity" in the working environment during his time on the chat show.
His comments come after it was announced last week that the show will be the subjext of an internal investigation following a number of complaints by former and current staff members.
DJ Tony, who was the show's resident DJ between 2003 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2013, shared a photo of himself on the show on Instagram and revealed that he has been "getting calls" asking him about his experience on the show, saying that he would "like to address the time I spent there".
"While I am grateful for the opportunity it afforded me," he wrote, "I did experience and feel the toxicity of the environment and I stand with my former colleagues in their quest to create a healthier and more inclusive workplace as the show moves forward."
A number of current and former staff members claimed to BuzzFeed News in a July article that they experienced racism, intimidation and a general toxic work culture while working on the show. Some alleged that they were fired for taking medical or bereavement leave, while one Black woman who worked on the show said she experienced racist comments and microaggressions.
A post shared by Tony okungbowa (@tokungbowa) on Aug 4, 2020 at 9:53am PDT
Related: Ellen DeGeneres vows to stop being "dancing lady" in order to "educate" following criticism
Producers have also denied allegations of instances of sexual harassment.
DeGeneres has since sent a letter to her crew in which she said that change is needed and that she is "committed to ensuring this does not happen again".
"As we've grown exponentially, I've not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I'd want them done. Clearly some didn't," she wrote.
Executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner have also responded to the allegations, saying: "Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1,000 staff members, we have strived to create an open, safe, and inclusive work environment.
"We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It's not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us.
"For the record, the day-to-day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and we realise, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better."
Lassner has since denied rumours that the long-running daytime show could be cancelled, tweeting: "Nobody is going off the air."
Digital Spy has launched its first-ever digital magazine with exclusive features, interviews, and videos. Access this edition with a 1-month free trial, only on Apple News+.
Interested in Digital Spy's weekly newsletter? Sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Like
