Former staffer claims Ellen DeGeneres ‘tormented household workers’

Amid mounting claims that Ellen DeGeneres created a toxic work environment at her talk show, the host has now been accused of “tormenting” her household staffers.

The Daily Mail reports that a person claiming to have worked at one of DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi’s California homes for several months in the past decade told the website that DeGeneres’ alleged behaviour behind the scenes of her show was nothing compared to her at-home persona.

“My belief is that someone’s real personality comes out at home,” the unnamed ex-staffer reportedly said. “So after everything that has been said about her at work, you can imagine how terrible Ellen is going to be at home when her guard is down.”
 

RELATED: Timeline of Ellen’s downfall

The ex-employee reportedly alleged that DeGeneres gave staffers a daily list of performance complaints from the previous day, listing trivial things like her coffee not being frothed to her liking, food being served in the wrong bowl or a worker leaving the salt shaker in the wrong spot.

DeGeneres also allegedly called out a chef for using the guest bathroom and a maid for forgetting to put a piece of rubbish in the recycling bin, according to the Daily Mail’s source.

The former staffer also claimed DeGeneres, 62, would “lay traps” by leaving matches all over the house to make sure her workers dusted and cleaned every square inch of her home, per the report.

“She treated you like you were nothing,” claimed the former staffer, according to the report, adding that DeGeneres would “yell” and had an “incredibly condescending tone”.

“She was going to torture you and you were just going to sit there and listen to it because you were being paid.”

DeGeneres also allegedly “takes pleasure” in firing her workers, the ex-employee reportedly claimed.

“I was told that she had a very high turnover and that I should stay under the radar as much as possible, avoid as much direct contact with Ellen as possible. Working there was described as being more like a boot camp,” the person said, adding: “Ellen was the worst person that I’ve ever met in my life.”
 

RELATED: What Ellen must do to salvage her reputation

The former staffer, who was not named in the report, claimed to have been canned after working for DeGeneres for a few months, but did not specify a reason for the termination.

“I was always stressed out and on the verge of tears. I remember going home sometimes thinking I just hated my life,” the ex-staffer claimed. “You stick it out because quitting looks bad on your resume but everyone in Hollywood knows what’s going on there.”

DeGeneres’ rep told Page Six of the claims: “This was one person who’s employment (the Daily Mail) said they could not fully verify but they went ahead with the story anyway. Many of the claims in the story are things that had been out in media previously by other ‘sources’ and in talking to people who work for Ellen are absolutely not true.”

DeGeneres has been in hot water after former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show accused the host of creating a toxic work environment and that she isn’t as nice as she seems on TV.

WarnerMedia is investigating the allegations against top executives at the show, which include sexual misconduct, harassment and assault. The TV host has since issued an apology.

Meanwhile, several of DeGeneres’ A-list pals have come out in support of the comedian during her fall from grace, while others are siding with the accusers.

Following allegations, the show ousted three senior producers and increased employee perks.
 

DeGeneres yesterday announced that her talk show will return to US screens on September 21 and she vowed to address the nasty allegations that have been levelled at her in recent months.

“I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio,” DeGeneres said. “And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission