Executives from show producer Telepictures and distributor Warner Bros. Television sent a memo to staffers last week saying they have engaged WBTV-owner WarnerMedia's employee relations group and a third party firm, who will interview current and former staffers about their experiences on set, said sources.
BuzzFeed's story contained a spectrum of accused racist behavior, from microagressions to jokes about mistaking two Black female employees with the same hairstyle, as well as criticism of statements allegedly made to another staffer by executive producer Ed Glavin. Glavin and fellow executive producers Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly addressed the allegations in a joint statement to Buzzfeed.
In April, there was a report about distress and outrage among DeGeneres' production crew, who were subjected to poor communication and told to expect reduced compensation during initial coronavirus shutdowns - even as the series hired nonunion crews to mount a quarantined production from the host's Los Angeles home.
At the time, a Warner Bros. spokesperson acknowledged that communication could have been better but cited complications due to the chaos caused by COVID-19. WarnerMedia has, like all other studios, been under pressure in recent years to investigate all claims of workplace hostility in response to increased focus on misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo movement.