WarnerMedia has begun to conduct an internal investigation into the hugely popular The Ellen DeGeneres Show following a series of allegations of racism, workplace intimidation, and other mistreatment made by employees.

Buzzfeed News published a series of allegations of workplace misconduct made by 11 unnamed current and former employees which included firings for taking medical leave, a Black employee having to face racist comments by a senior staff member, and about staffers being told to refrain from talking directly to DeGeneres.

The staffers revealed that the alleged behaviour behind-the-scenes is completely different from the facade that DeGeneres generates on air.

In a joint statement to Buzzfeed News, executive producers Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner stated that they are taking these allegations seriously and added: “We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience.”