NBCUNIVERSAL EVENTS -- NBCUniversal Press Tour, August 2017 -- "STEVE" cast -- Pictured: Steve Harvey, Host/Executive Producer -- (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Steve Harvey isn't always as articulate as he'd like to be.
In May, a leaked memo to his staff in Chicago went viral, and as a result, the comedian found himself in a national scandal. In the note, he forbid uninvited guests from approaching him in his dressing room, claiming he had "been taken advantage of" by his "lenient policy." Harvey added that he will "not entertain" anyone in the hallway, and said he hates feeling "ambushed."
Speaking to reporters in L.A. Thursday to promote his new NBC talk show Steve, the comedian addressed the controversy surround his memo. "Man, let me tell you something. That e-mail, I learned two things. One: I can't write. And I should never write," Harvey, 60, joked. "It was something I wrote a year ago, and someone didn't get a job coming to L.A. and they got pissed."
"I was OK until I saw it on CNN—and that's when I knew I was in a lot of trouble," said Harvey, adding that it "wasn't that big a deal" to him before then. "I'm not a mean-spirited guy at all. I'm a real congenial guy." In hindsight, the host joked, "I thought it was cute, but you all didn't."
Roughly 10 out of 60 people were asked to move from Chicago to L.A. for his new talk show. "The current staff that we have is because the type of the show that we're doing," executive producer Shane Farley said. Harvey added, "The big difference here and the reason for moving to L.A. is I wanted to bring late-night TV to daytime. I think that's what's missing after doing daytime for five years. Takeaway is not what daytime TV needs anymore. People just need to laugh in the middle of the day; I've kind of been restricted from that over the past five years."
Some aspects of the program will remain the same, though.
"I've championed women on my show the show five years it's been there, whether it's dating or advice," he promised reporters during the Q&A. "I'm not going to stop doing that on this show."
Steve will premiere Sept. 5 on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)