Ellen DeGeneres could be replaced
Rumours are rife that a frontrunner has already emerged to replace Ellen DeGeneres - despite the star not yet confirming is she’s saying goodbye to her TV hosting gig.
According to reports by The Sun, host of the Late Late Show James Corden is “in line” to replace DeGeneres, and “could be the shock winner after dozens of employees accused the $50 million-a-year presenter of turning a blind eye to racism, bullying and sexual harassment on her hit daytime show”.
The publication revealed insiders claim Corden has been seen as DeGeneres’ “long-term successor” even before the recent allegations came to light.
It follows reports over the weekend that the 62-year-old is soon to call quits on her hugely successful show, due to negative publicity and workplace allegations.
According to the Daily Mail, the host has told executives at TelePictures and Warner Bros that she’s had enough and wants to walk away.
“She feels she can’t go on and the only way to recover her personal brand from this is to shut down the show,” a source told the publication.
“The truth is she knew what was going on, it’s her show. The buck stops with her. She can blame every executive under the sun – but Ellen is ultimately the one to blame.”
Staff was also left unimpressed by the apology letter she had sent out last week, saying she’s a “phony” and claiming anyone who complained to her about ongoing issues “would’ve been fired”.
“Don’t think for a minute anything she has said in that apology means anything. She created and then enabled this toxic culture to go on for so long,” one staffer said.
“If anyone had come to her or those three (executive producers) to complain, they would’ve been fired.”
“Inside Telepictures we’ve had enough of her. She is a phony who does not practice what she preaches,” another source told Daily Mail.
“The behaviour of her show executives has been appalling, but (Ellen) is no better. In fact, she is the worst. It’s outrageous that she is trying to pretend that this is all a shock to her. The fish rots from the head, and Ellen is the head.”
The insider went on to claim that DeGeneres “hates coming to work”, “struggles to be nice to people” and has “utter contempt for her audience”.
“She has been phoning it in for so long, and only staying for the money and celebrity it affords her,” the source said.
“We’ve dealt with her BS for so many years, she’s not innocent at all, she’s not nice and the show is not filled with happiness.”