Ellen DeGeneres: Ashton Kutcher defends himself from criticism after posting support of host
Ashton Kutcher has defended his support of Ellen DeGeneres after receiving blowback for his views on the TV host.
Some celebrities, including Katy Perry and Kevin Hart, have jumped to DeGeneres’s defence following numerous claims that she is “mean” behind-the-scenes of her talk show.
The series is also undergoing an internal investigation over allegations of sexual misconduct on the show’s set, as well as workplace bullying.
While DeGeneres, 62, herself has not been personally accused of mistreating staff, she said in a statement that, as the face of the show, she took “full responsibility” for the situation.
Kutcher tweeted his defence of the host, writing: ”I haven’t spoken with @TheEllenShow and can only speak from my own experience. She & her team have only treated me & my team w/ respect & kindness. She never pandered to celebrity which I always saw as a refreshing honesty. When things aren’t right she handles it and fixes.”
Following the post, many people took exception to the actor’s statement, with some saying it minimised the claims made by her staff members.
When this was brought to Kutcher’s attention, he wrote: “I understand.”
However, when another person suggested that he has only been treated nicely by DeGeneres “because [he is] a celebrity,” he responded: ”But it extends to my team and people she didn’t even know I work with.”
Kutcher also said he feels it is unfair that DeGeneres is being blamed for the alleged harmful behaviour of other people who work on the show.
“I feel people should be held accountable for THEIR actions,” he added.
DeGeneres issued an apology to former staff members after an investigation by WarnerMedia found “deficiencies in day-to-day management” on the set of her popular chat show.
The investigation was sparked after a number of ex-staff members shared anonymous accounts of their negative experiences working on the series.
Ten former crew members initially came forward to make allegations of mistreatment by producers and other staff members, which were published in a Buzzfeed News report.
Many of the accusers claimed that the show’s production environment was “dominated by fear”, and claimed that employees who did not complain about work hours or microaggressions were rewarded.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, DeGeneres found herself at the centre of several accusations of “mean” behaviour after comedian Kevin T Porter pledged to donate $2 to a Los Angeles food bank for every “insane story” his Twitter followers tweeted to him about her.
He branded DeGeneres “notoriously one of the meanest people alive”.
One story claimed that DeGeneres would send her staff home if they had failed to chew gum before speaking to her.
Read more
How Ellen DeGeneres came to be accused of enabling a toxic workplace
Why all the fuss over a same-sex kiss on CBBC?
RIP box sets: How streaming lets classic TV slip through the cracks
