Adam Carolla Claims Ellen DeGeneres Was 'Mean,' Staff Was 'Scared to Death' on Talk Show Set

During a recent appearance on the After Party with Emily Dashinsky podcast, the comedian alleged he witnessed the talk show host's staff walking on eggshells while on the set of The Ellen DeGeneres Show -- and claimed it was clear DeGeneres wasn't as kind behind the scenes as she appeared on screen.

"Ellen has always been a mean person," Carolla said on Tuesday's episode. "Everyone was scared of her, which means she's mean."

Carolla, who appeared on Ellen back in 2012, recalled an interaction with a segment producer that tipped him off to the tension among her crew.

"I was just sitting in my dressing room and their segment producer came in, and he went, 'All right, so we went over all the stuff we're going to talk about.' You know, Christmas vacation or whatever it was," he shared. "And I go, 'Yeah, yeah.' He goes, 'You're not gonna talk about meat or beef or anything like that, right?' And I go, 'No, I'm not.'"

But that wasn’t the end of the warning.

"He came back 20 minutes later right before I went out, and he's like, 'OK, but don’t talk about beef or meat.' I was like, 'Oh, this guy's scared to death,'" Carolla continued. "This guy's scared."

According to Carolla, that wasn't the only time he heard about a tense environment on set. He claimed he later spoke to someone who worked on the show, but wouldn’t reveal their identity because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

"I just went, 'How's Ellen?' And he said, ‘Worst person, uh, worst person -- not worst person I've worked for, worst person I've ever met,'" Carolla alleged. "She's not gonna be mean to me, I'm a guest on the show, right? I wouldn't know it from my exchanges, I would know it from how her staff was cowering."

DeGeneres has yet to publicly respond to Carolla's claims.

The talk show host was previously accused of fostering a toxic workplace environment in 2020, after several former staffers spoke out about mistreatment behind the scenes. WarnerMedia launched an internal investigation following the allegations.

In a memo sent to staff in July 2020, DeGeneres apologized, saying "everyone should be treated with respect." She also addressed the scandal during her return to air that September.

"I learned that things happened here that never should have happened," DeGeneres said in her season premiere monologue. "I take that very seriously, and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected."

She continued, "I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show."

In May 2021, DeGeneres announced The Ellen DeGeneres Show would end in 2022 after 19 seasons -- though she maintained the decision had nothing to do with the allegations.

"It's going to be really hard on the last day, but I also know it's time," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "I just needed something to challenge me."

She added that the controversy was "very hurtful," saying, "It destroyed me, honestly. I'd be lying if I said it didn't. It broke my heart when I learned that people here had anything other than a fantastic experience -- that people were hurt in any way."

DeGeneres later addressed the controversy and allegations about her being "mean" during her Netflix standup special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, which premiered on the streamer last fall.

"I got kicked out of show business. Yeah, because I'm mean. You can’t be mean and be in show business. They'll kick you out. No mean people in show business," she joked at the time, adding that this is her second strike. "Kicked me out before because I told them I was out. No gay people in show business. They kick you out. Can't be gay and be in show business. Eventually they're going to kick me out a third time for being old -- mean, old and gay, the triple crown."