Nearly three years after reports of toxicity at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” made headlines, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” — a talk show that inherited the “Ellen” time slot on many stations — is facing a similar scandal.
In a new Rolling Stone report, one current and 10 former employees alleged being overworked, underpaid and mentally traumatized while working at “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which they described as a toxic environment.
“NBC is protecting the show because it’s their new money maker, but Kelly has no clue how unhappy her staff is,” one ex-employee told the magazine.
None of the 11 interviewees think that Clarkson — who is “fantastic” and “never treats anyone with anything but dignity and is incredibly appreciative,” another former employee said — knows what they’ve allegedly endured.
“I’d be floored if she knew the staff wasn’t getting paid for two weeks of Christmas hiatus,” the same ex-employee said. “The Kelly that I interacted with and that everyone knows would probably be pretty aghast to learn that.”
Instead, the employees blame the show’s senior and executive producers, including showrunner Alex Duda, an alum of “Steve Harvey” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”
“I think Alex Duda’s a monster,” one former employee says. “I have a friend who’s an executive producer who warned me about taking this job, because apparently she has done this on every show she’s worked on.”
The interviewees reported taking on side jobs to make ends meet, getting yelled at and cursed at by a producer, vomiting because of the anxiety, and reporting producers’ conduct to HR just to see those same producers get promotions.
The show “is by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in my entire life,” one former employee said.
Rolling Stone also reports that the Writers Guild of America is also investigating allegations that producers on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” also episodes as well, which would be a violation of the union’s Minimum Basic Agreement.
Now “The Kelly Clarkson Show” is relocating from Los Angeles to New York City for its fifth season, upending the livelihoods of the show’s LA-based workers, but staffers told Rolling Stone that Duda only gave the show’s staff concrete details about the move two minutes before Variety confirmed the news.
“People shouldn’t be treated like this,” one former staffer told Rolling Stone. “Especially when you’re working on a TV show that’s winning Emmys and bringing in millions of ad dollars.”