Australian radio presenter Neil Breen has opened up about his “bizarre” experience working with Ellen DeGeneres and her team, claiming he was told he wasn’t allowed to “talk to her” or even look at her during her 2013 appearance on Australia’s Today show.
Speaking to 4BC, he said that she was initially due to co-host a televised segment but eventually the plan was changed to a sitdown interview with DeGeneres (conducted by his colleague Richard Wilkins). Ahead of her arrival on the programme, Breen claimed he was told “how it’s going to work here” by her producers.
Breen recalled he was told: “Now Neil, no one is to talk to Ellen. You don’t talk to her. You don’t approach her. You don’t look at her. She’ll come in, she’ll sit down, she’ll talk to Richard, then Ellen will leave.”
Breen recalled his response: “I sort of said, ‘Are you fair dinkum? I can’t look at her?’ I found the whole thing bizarre.”
Breen continued that he wasn’t sure if DeGeneres knew about the alleged demands being made by her producers, as he “never got to talk to her.” He did however observe her staff: “I can tell you the people who work with her walked on eggshells the whole time.”
Breen’s comments come as a reported memo circulated around The Ellen DeGeneres team made headlines this week, with Variety claiming that it declared an internal review of the show’s workplace culture would be taking place.
Former and present members of staff have accused the show’s executive producers of racial micro aggressions as well as firing staffers after taking medical and bereavement leave. The show was also criticised for its alleged failure to communicate as lockdown hit the United States, with the show reducing crew members’ pay by 60% as they hired a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres film from home.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson previously told Variety that “communication could have been better."
“The crew was paid the week of March 30th despite having no firm plans for production to resume.”
The Evening Standard has reached out for comment.
