Richard Wilkins recalls his ‘weird, cold’ interview with Ellen DeGeneres

Nine’s entertainment editor Richard Wilkins has revealed what it was like to interview Ellen DeGeneres – following the news her talk show is ending after 19 seasons.

In an article for Nine.com.au on Thursday, the showbusiness veteran, 66, recalled feeling awkward and ‘cold’ while meeting the 63-year-old comedian in California more than a decade ago.

‘It was the coldest studio I’ve ever been in – figuratively and literally. It wasn’t just the temperature, which was freezing,’ Wilkins wrote. 

Describing his chat with DeGeneres as as ‘the weirdest of interviews’, Wilkins added: ‘I must admit it was quite intimidating. The full audience witnessing the daytime talk queen being grilled mercilessly by some bloke they’d never heard of before.’

He recalled that DeGeneres preferred to ask questions rather than answer them, even though he was the interviewer on this occasion.

Summing up the experience, Wilkins wrote: ‘All very professional but definitely not a warm and fuzzy experience.’

Elsewhere in the article, Wilkins spoke of his subsequent interview with DeGeneres in 2013 on Australia’s Today show. 

Wilkins described this experience as ‘professional’ and uncontroversial. 

However, he did note that then-executive producer Neil Breen was left unimpressed with DeGeneres’ staffers, as they allegedly banned everyone but Wilkins from talking to DeGeneres on set – a claim previously made by Neil himself.  

Last year, DeGeneres’ popular daytime talk show faced an internal investigation following numerous allegations of a ‘toxic’ and ‘bullying’ workplace culture. 

An internal memo explained that current and former staff were to be interviewed about claims of ‘mistreatment, racism and intimidation’ behind the scenes.

DeGeneres hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing herself.

Several previous employees claimed DeGeneres was unfriendly on set and that crew members were warned not to talk to her or make eye contact.

Announcing her decision to end her show after 19 seasons, DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: ‘When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged. And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore.’

She downplayed last year’s toxic-workplace scandal, however, and insisted it was not a factor in her decision to wrap up the program.

‘It almost impacted the show,’ DeGeneres, who was not accused of wrongdoing herself but was blamed for allowing the issues to develop, told the trade publication.

‘It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season,’ she added.

DeGeneres, who is married to Australian actress Portia de Rossi, has apparently been considering ending the show for several years.

Meanwhile, a source told DailyMail.com: ‘She’s promised one more season after this one and will exit at the end of the 2021/2022 season – the 19th season of the show.

‘The ratings have tanked and have been truly appalling this year and Ellen knows her time is up.’

The ratings for total households from February 2020 to February 2021 were down 40 per cent in New York City and Chicago; in Los Angeles she’s lost 59 per cent of viewers.

In Philly ratings in the same time period were down 32 per cent and in San Francisco she lost 50 per cent of viewers.

Since its season premiere in September, the show garnered an average of 1.5 million viewers by March – down 1.1 million from the same time-frame a year ago, which had 2.6 million average viewers.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show got off to a strong ratings start last fall in her 18th season premiere when she addressed the scandal, but has seen a swift decline in the months since.

‘I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,’ Ellen said in her season premiere. ‘I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.

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

‘This is me and my intention is to always be the best person I can be, and if I’ve ever let someone down, if I’ve ever hurt their feelings, I am so sorry for that,’ she said. ‘If that’s ever the case, I’ve let myself down and I’ve hurt myself as well because I always try to grow as a person.

‘I look at everything that comes into my life as an opportunity to learn. I got into this business to make people laugh and feel good, that’s my favorite thing to do.’

The claims of Ellen’s toxic work environment were revealed in July 2020 by one current and 10 former employees of the daytime talk show who accused three executive producers, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, of ‘bullying’.

Executive producers Glavin, Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman were all fired from the popular talk show following the accusations leveled against them by current and former staffers.

Ellen came out with an apology after it was announced that her show was subject to a probe by WarnerMedia which looked into ‘staff experiences on set’.

The host sent her staff a memo in which she wrote she was ‘taking steps… to correct’ issues with her employees.

‘On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry,’ Ellen said in the memo.

‘As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t,’ she added. ‘That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.’

Among the allegations was one made by a black woman who claimed she suffered a number of ‘microaggressions,’ her request for a raise was ignored and she was accused of ‘walking around looking resentful and angry’ after asking for staff members to undergo diversity and inclusion training.

Another former employee alleged they were fired after taking medical leave for one month following a suicide attempt.

A popular claim that circulated is that staff members were instructed not to speak to Ellen.

Some claims included that staff were required to chew gum before speaking to her because of her ‘sensitive nose’, and that she policed staff lunch orders and banned anyone from eating fish or meat.