Ellen DeGeneres' Former Employee Defends Her Treatment Of Talk Show Staff

Ellen DeGeneres's reputation has never been the same ever since she was accused of mistreating her employees and creating a "toxic" work environment. But now, years later, at least one person who formerly worked for the talk show host has come to her defense. Kalen Allen, who was an important part of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," went on Brandi Glanville's podcast to set the record straight about his own experiences. Glanville is no stranger to controversy herself, so she's probably the safest space Allen would be able to find. 

Back in 2020, BuzzFeed News reported on some truly upsetting stories from former "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" staffers. Some said they were fired for taking medical leave or missing work to attend family funerals, for instance. Employees also claimed, according to BuzzFeed, that they were not allowed to talk to DeGeneres directly if they happened to see her. A few former employees also said they'd experienced racism while working for the show. DeGeneres later apologized to staff and the production company made staffing changes, per BBC, but the show did eventually come to an end. 

Unlike the employees who spoke to BuzzFeed, though, Allen has fond memories of working on the show.

Former "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" employee Kalen Allen finally decided to speak his truth about what went on behind the scenes on Brandi Glanville's "Unfiltered" podcast. "I can only speak from my experience," he said, "because the truth for me was I had an amazing time at the show." Allen's not saying the former employees weren't telling the truth, just that he didn't necessarily see it. "I wasn't in the office every single day and then when I was I wasn't always around her to even know the extremity of it all ... it was such a delicate time."

At the end of the day, show business is a tough industry, and maybe not everyone is cut out for that life, Allen suggested. "I think also working in Hollywood it gets really tricky because you have this bubble of people, but then you have also all these people who live in the real world and live in Hollywood ... and sometimes those worlds clash because they are so vastly different."

For what it's worth, Allen wasn't part of the behind-the-scenes team, he was on-air talent that DeGeneres brought on the show after seeing his YouTube channel. "Ellen and I had a different relationship, we were very close and still are because of the fact that she brought me in," he acknowledges. When the show finally ended, he wrote on Twitter, "She was my champion and, most importantly, my friend from day one."