The Ellen DeGeneres Show Producer Andy Lassner Breaks His Silence!

“Oh, look who it is. If it isn’t Andy Lassner. Well, yes it is. Your eyes do not deceive you. I’m back. I’ve been away for a little bit dealing with, you know, some stuff. You may have read about it.”

Lassner further mentioned how difficult it was for the last couple of months as the Ellen Show was knee-deep in controversy. However, it allowed them to “learn” more about themselves:

“It’s been a couple of rough months. But it’s when we go through these things, I guess, that we learn the most about ourselves and maybe even some growth. But to tell you it hasn’t been rough would be a lie, and I’ve always been honest with you.

Now that the difficult times are behind ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, Andy Lassner is looking forward to things returning back to normal:

“So, it’s been rough. But I’m back. I have been walking. I will be walking with you guys again. Because I mean, let’s face it, what is life when you’re not slow walking with Andy? Anyways, I love you guys, I miss ya and I’ll talk to you soon.”

What happened on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’?

This Instagram post came almost 2 months after Warner Bros. fired three top executives from ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman “parted ways” with the show after a month-long internal investigation.

Warner Bros. conducted this investigation after serious allegations surfaced in a Buzzfeed report. In the report, former employees admitted that “racism, fear, and intimidation” filled the toxic work environment of the Ellen show. Moreover, a former employee even recalled experiencing “racist comments, actions, and microaggressions”. When Buzzfeed contacted the studio at ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, they denied the accusations and gave the following statement:

Over the course of nearly two decades, 3,000 episodes, and employing over 1000 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 realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better.

Now that there’s been a lot of shuffling on the show, a source told E! News that they only did so to help make a better work environment for current staffers. They said:

“…people spoke out in the first place because they wanted current staffers to have a better working experience…”

Interestingly, there were no claims made against Ellen DeGeneres. ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ is scheduled to return to the air Sept. 9.