Ellen DeGeneres is ready to address the ongoing controversy surrounding her syndicated talk show.
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, the host said via a press release, "I can't wait to get back to work and back to our studio. And, yes, we're gonna talk about it."
The "it" in her statement is presumably a reference to the accusations of workplace misconduct on the Ellen set and the ensuing internal investigation conducted by an outside firm hired by Warner Bros. Ellen previously discussed the claims in a letter written to staffers, but has yet to publicly address the situation.
So when exactly will the comedian finally lay it all out on the table? Well, production on season 18 will resume on the Warner Bros. set on Monday, Sept. 21. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic there will be no live audience.
In addition, a tentative list of guests were announced, with Tiffany Haddish helping Ellen to kick off the inaugural episode of the season.
Chrissy Teigen, Alec Baldwin and Kerry Washington are expected to make appearances throughout premiere week. In addition, there will be interviews with Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler and Orlando Bloom, whose fiancée, Katy Perry, publicly defended the host.
In recent months, Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres have taken measures to ensure that the accusations of a "toxic work environment" are a thing of the past. These measures include letting go of executive producers Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman. In addition, Stephen "tWitch" Boss was promoted to executive producer.
As for the results of the internal investigation, Variety reported that the investigation found there was no evidence of "systemic racism" on set.
A previous statement from Warner Bros. read, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show is, and has always strived to be, a place that brings positivity to the world. And though not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management. We have identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised, and are taking the first steps to implement them."