When we think of daytime TV, Ellen DeGeneres’ smile and bubbly persona often come to mind.
But behind the cameras, not everyone experienced the same sunshine.
Former writers and comedians have recently shared stories painting a far less cheerful picture of life on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
A Warmup Job Gone Awry
Greg Fitzsimmons, a seasoned comedy writer and stand-up, opened up on the We Might Be Drunk podcast about his time on the show.
He remembered being offered a role as the warmup comic during the show’s first season in 2003.
“She said, ‘Greg, you’re going to do it,’” Fitzsimmons recalled.
Initially hesitant, he agreed after being told it was an extra $4,000 a week for just 10 minutes a day.
But the job quickly turned complicated. Fitzsimmons shared a humorous yet tense anecdote about a “banana wave” he orchestrated with the studio audience, unaware that the same word appeared in DeGeneres’ script.
When the audience enthusiastically waved at the word, DeGeneres was left confused and “seething.”
Fitzsimmons remembered thinking, “Alright, I’m getting fired for that.”
He wasn’t, but the incident created an awkward dynamic that lingered even as the show started winning Emmys.
Rising Tensions Behind the Scenes
Fitzsimmons described DeGeneres as a perfectionist with a short fuse.
He suggested her temperament worsened as the show grew in success, noting she became “mean because she was back on top.”
Other staffers reportedly felt fear and pressure to stay in the figurative “circle” of approval, with newcomers sometimes breaking down in tears under the strain.
The comic recalled that he himself was experienced enough to handle tough bosses, having worked with Bill Maher and others, but many first-time writers struggled with the intensity of the environment.
“It was a lot of crying always,” he said, highlighting the emotional toll of the workplace culture.
Former Staff Speak Out
Stories like Fitzsimmons’ echo broader allegations about DeGeneres’ show.
Past employees have recounted pranks intended to mock the host’s allegedly childish behavior and a pervasive sense of anxiety behind the scenes.
Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, who also worked with DeGeneres, confirmed the tense atmosphere, describing staffers as genuinely scared during their visits.
Fitzsimmons, who earned four Daytime Emmys during his tenure, said that the experience “really bothered me that much” only because of his prior career experience.
For newer staff, the workplace pressures were far more intense.
Life After the Show
Since the show ended, DeGeneres has relocated to the UK with her wife, Portia de Rossi.
She has expressed that she misses hosting and would return to the format if the circumstances were right, though she acknowledges that audiences now consume entertainment differently.
“People are watching on their phones, or people aren’t really paying attention as much to televisions,” she explained in a recent BBC interview.
Reps for DeGeneres have not responded to Daily Mail requests for comment, leaving the former staffers’ accounts as the primary insight into the behind-the-scenes reality of one of daytime television’s most famous shows.
