Friday, October 11, 2024

Ellen DeGeneres In Free Fall as Celebrity Pile On Begins: “Back to the Future” Star Lea Thompson Says Negative Treatment Stories are “True”

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The title of this episode is “Everybody Hates Ellen.”

“Back to the Future” star Lea Thompson backed actor Brad Garrett on Twitter in his sentiments expressed about Ellen DeGeneres yesterday.

Responding to a People magazine tweet about Garrett criticizing Ellen for treating her guests badly, Thompson wrote “True story, it is.”

That makes two major Hollywood celebs who’ve come clean on their experiences with the Ellen show. Will this kick open the floodgates? Once at the top of the ratings heap, “Ellen” is now struggling as staff and ex-staff have exposed the “toxic” situation backstage.

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In the process, executive producer Ed Glavin is gone. The two remaining top producers are under fire as well. The show is under and internal investigation. Buzz Feed has spoken to over 50 staffers who’ve spoken of sexual and other kinds of harassment.

But for actors who are the bread and butter of “Ellen” guests to start speaking up, that’s trouble. If Telepictures, the company that produces “Ellen,” pulls the plug– or allows DeGeneres to end the show on her own– the financial ramifications are huge. And it’s not so easy to start a new show with a new host. Most syndicated shows fail in their first season. It took a while for “Ellen” to catch on. And for her to leave in disgrace would pretty much wreck her “brand.” DeGeneres’s popular “Game of Game Shows” on NBC would likely be affected negatively as well.

Garrett, a big and popular star of “Everyone Loves Raymond,” had Tweeted: “Sorry but it comes from the top ⁦@TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her.⁩ Common knowledge.” That was in response to Variety Tweet about DeGeneres’s public “apology” in which she took no responsibility for the overwhelming negative accusations and anecdotes. Thompson then responded (see below).

Garrett and Thompson are respected in TV circles, and that’s what hurts. If the guests who aren’t Justin Bieber or Jennifer Aniston– who Ellen sucks up to like crazy at least on camera–won’t return to her set, “Ellen” is over.

 


Ellen-Jennifer photo c2020 Norah Lawlor

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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