'Ellen' responds

In response to a sharply worded rebuke from the Writers Guild of America to daytime talk show host  Ellen Degeneres, representatives for the comedian released the following statement.

"It is unfair and incorrect to compare The Ellen DeGeneres Show to late night shows such as Leno, Letterman and Conan, all of which are late night network owned and controlled programming.  Ellen is a daytime talk show carried on a syndicated basis across individual television stations, no different than, and in direct competition with, Oprah, [Rachael] Ray, Phil, Live with Regis and [Kelly], the View, Martha, Tyra, Jerry, [Maury], and Montel, all of which are in first run daytime syndication and are continuing in production.

"Ellen has not done anything in violation of the Writer's Guild of America agreement, or the WGA's internal 'Strike Rules'. Telepictures Productions, through its distributor Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, has contractual obligations to continue to deliver original programming to the 220 stations that carry the program.

"We have asked Ellen to come back to work to fulfill her contractual obligation as host of the show because without original programs the stations can move the show out of its time periods or ultimately hold the company in breach of contract. The company in turn expects Ellen not to breach her contract to host the show. We also wish to preserve the 135 jobs of the staff and the crew whose livelihoods depend on the show continuing. We regret the Writers Guild has chosen to strike and we wish for a quick resolution."

Comments

[Springhillbilly]

With the writers on strike maybe there will be something interesting and entertaining on television for a change.

[MorbidlyAmused]

CBS, meet KBS. NBC, meet NHK. ABC, meet BBC.

[Terry J.]

Sorry, Ellen. As an excuse it just doesn't cut it. I love it how rights and considerations seem to be a one way street with some people. Cry over a dog, yet these writers, who aren't Hollywood fatcats, but struggling middle class Americans, who don't work 52 weeks of the year.. they don't count for as much as a credit card commercial endorsement, right?

You've lost a fan, Ellen. I wouldn't watch your show now if it was the only one on television.

[DA in LA]

Uh, no, Ellen is not like Oprah, Dr. Phil, Martha, Jerry, Tyra, Maury, Montel, etc. Those are talk shows. Ellen's show is a variety show. She should now this because this season she attempted to become more like Oprah and failed, quickly returning to variety.

She should tell it to her own writers, who are disgusted and embarrassed.

[unin worker]

You know - I admire her for seeing the "bigger picture" which its is obvious the writers don't. On every production there are more than just the liveihood of the writer's residuals at stake, there are the jobs of the tireless "below the line" crew that keep it together. So instead of caving into 3-5 five whiners she kept her integrity, by seeing that there were many more livelihoods at stake besides these people that are one cog in the whle wheel. Also, and important point that is mentioned and continues to be glossed over by the writers is that people have contractural obligations that they must fulfill. It is true of all the unions in hollywood, there is a "no strike clause", meaning that if people not in the writer's union choose to strike they will loose their jobs and there is no guarantee that they will have one once the strike is over. In otherwords everyone from local 44 to the teamsters have a "its not our fight" stance. So in other words the writers are asking the rank and file tro give up everything only to gain something for themselves, are the writers fighting for residuals for set dressers, costumers or art directors? Of course not, but they are asking us to give up are very livelihood for more than their fare share. Quit your finger pointing and take a good hard look at yourselves and what messages you are really sending. The producers may not care but your "fellow crew" will, and Its seems a pretty selfish argument to most of us.

[Randy in LA]

Someone here said these are not "Hollywood fatcats, but struggling middle class Americans." Well it's the poor in New Orleans who are struggling, the employee cleaning toilets at hotels who is struggling. The average writer makes $200,000 a year. That's average! Oh, and the median salary (that which half make more and half make less) is almost $100,000 per year. I read in the Times that 20% of the writers make $30,000/year... but that also means that 20% must make near $400,000/year to come up with those averages. Now I have no problem with the writers going on strike for more money since they deserve what they can get, more power to them. But this isn't a coal miner strike or even a supermarket strike and I'm not going to feel sorry one bit if they fail in their endeavors.

[Jerry]

I think it was wonderful of Ellen to show so much humanity towards a tragic situation involving a puppy. Unfortunately she had demonstrated more humanity towards a dog then she had toward actual human beings. It was once put to pet owners in a survey who they would save first: their drowning dog or a man they did not know? Incredibly most pet owners would choose to rescue their dog first. Hitler certainly would have voted for his dog as a pet lover. I like Ellen but her decision to cross the writers picket line shows she no better then the pet owners who would rescue their dog before a human being. It terrible people can have so much sympathy for a dog and show nothing for their fellow human beings who deserve at least as much sympathy and support as a dog. Ellen, Opra and all the other daytime shows should respect the writers’ picket line whatever their contractual obligations as members of the same industry. What’s the worst that can happen to these millionaires, in the case of Opra she a billionaire? They wont be endangered of losing their position if they honor the strike lines. And even if they did they could go play with their millions if they were out of a job.

[sara]

Good for Ellen. I bet there are a lot of people working on her show that are beyond relieved that they will not be out of a job. Ellen carrying on with her show is not going to ultimately deny the striking writers anything. I'm kind of suck of this whole "MUST SUPPORT THE WGA!!!!!!!!!!" mentality going on. Dude, do you know how many people strike? Sanitation workers. Grocery store workers. Hotel workers. etc. And no one goes out of their way to support these people, who do more for us than writers who provide us entertainment! This whole thing is just another piece of evidence that American Society puts way too much emphasis on celebs and Hollywood. Nice of people to go march with the WGA strikers and take them snacks, but who did that for the grocery store workers here in Los Angeles in 2003?

[TA]

More than their fair share? WTF? They write the copy that brings all the revenue for the studio even if its on the net. The studio should pay since they get paid by the advertisers who pay them for space on their sites. It is and always will be the studios and the heads that are the leaches who suck the life out of the talent.
Strike and not crossing picket lines is the only power that American workers have against big business. Its a shame that so many Americans don't realize that as we watch all our job go overseas to countries who poison us with lead, e coli, and provide us with shoddy workmanship.

[Denise Olson]

By Perez Hiltion:

Such a disappointment! Ellen DeGeneres, whom we usually love love love, is not supporting the striking writers. The comic was back at work on Tuesday and she taped an episode of her talk show. Ellen told the audience: “I’ve got to say this is a strange show for me to do. This is weird. Weird. It’s a weird show.

[N.B.]

Amazing how quickly Ellen is falling from her catbird seat.

[Rob]

It is unfortunate the unions in LA control the city. They pick any excuse to attack anyone or company to keep themselves in business. Ellen is cool and funny, and it is unfortunately they are picking on her.

[Black Dog Clan]

It's interesting to see yet again, that the emotional attachment to dogs is usually far more than people have with strangers. Dogs are surrogate children, friends, and perhaps even lovers.

Writers? Who cares!

[Allison Sledge]

Ellen has enough money to never have to work a day in her life again. She loves her show, she loves her fans, she loves her crew, she loves her writers, and she loves her audience. Ellen is also an Aquarius, and anyone familiar with this sign knows that these people march to the beat of their own truth, with a humanitarian vision at the forefront of their consciousness. Obviously Ellen's contractual agreement both with the Writers Guild and her show, are in accordance with what is in the best interest of everyone involved. For people to compare her feelings about the ordeal with her dog, to her going back to hosting her wonderful show, truly shows a lapse in logic. She supports her writers, and her writers support her. There are far too many people who do not know the intricacies or details of her obligations, and therefore criticize her in the media, where an equally uninformed public takes these misunderstandings as the gospel truth! With a war going on, an economic recession on the horizon, and all the other elements of a depressing state of culture, I believe people should welcome such a wonderfully gifted artist into their homes everyday - regardless of the politics of the writers strike. Did we all forget the old adage "The Show Must Go On?"

[Diane in Carlsbad]

I watch Ellen because she is funny, entertaining, surprising and daring. I don't expect her to be the conscious of america. I just want to laugh a little after a long day at work.

[jewel]

Ellen, you smell. You think people will actually buy into your excuse?? Especially when YOU are a card-carrying member of the WGA?

I was an ardent fan of Ellen’s. But I’ve grown to hate her talk show. All she does is panders and fawns over a lot of these egotistical celebrities because she wants so badly to be part of the A-List crowd.
I do not think she is good at interviewing people, unless you call kissing ass an interviewing skill. Rosie O’Donnell was a crackerjack at interviewing her guests on her show–she was never boring. Her show always crackled.
Ellen tries too hard to be “nice” and is so bland when she’s not gushing over her latest celebrity guest that I zone out. She is no longer of the common people, and strikes me as somebody who only wants to associate with other celebrities to further her own celebrity-ism. That’s why she kisses ass so much. You don’t win Emmys by being a maverick–you win them by being politically in with those who vote. Ellen will cross any and all picket lines in order to keep winning emmys and keep her face on TV.

And she uses dog adoption as a publicity stunt. Ellen, STOP ADOPTING DOGS! First Lucy, now Iggy. I do not understand why you could not come up with a workable solution for either dog, given how big your property is. I think the dogs were TOO MUCH WORK and TROUBLE for her, so she decided to get rid of them instead of figuring out a workable solution with the cats. (Unless she is BLAMING the Cats instead of admitting SHE or her latest Girlfriend didn’t like the animals). And thanks to her crocodile tears on her TV show, the animal adoption agency has received death threats and harassing phone calls. Nice going, Ellen.

So she treats her writers like garbage? I am not surprised. I am a writer myself, and really hate people like Ellen who abuse their staff and blame them FOR HER FAILURE. Don’t get laughs? Maybe it’s the way you delivery the line, Ellen, and NOT the writer. So she crosses the picket line instead of supporting the WGA? Why is everybody so surprised? She doesn’t want to miss being on her show in her zeal to keep clawing up the Hollywood ladder. A person like her who dumps dogs at the drop of a hat and treats writers like crap doesn’t give a damn about people lower than herself on the Hollywood food chain. She only cares about herself.

[Jay in Tucson]

I find it an absurd turn of fate where care and thought to the consequences of one's actions constitutes a lack of humanity. Ellen's recent experience with the dog likely taught her a valuable lesson... take heed in the decisions you make and responsibility for the lives you touch. This dog episode wasn't about the DOG, it was about the family who had dog taken away because of her unfortunate action. Consequently, Ellen likely feels responsible for those who depend on her to put her show forth, now more than ever.

Her choices? Put 135 people out of work, take the enrichment she shares with her vast viewers away and possibly lose her show in order to support, what, 3,500 writers in turning a heftier profit for the jobs they do. Jobs that pay well over the national average (38k/yr), and have the capacity to earn much more for superior work and experience... or press on, without the writers, from whom all television is purportedly dependent upon and keep herself and her staff working toward her lifelong dream of touching people's lives. Oh to have a dream and the power to keep it.

I, for one, WANT to be sympathetic to the WGA strike, but when I compare the work so many others do, I think -- how lucky would we all be to enjoy continued payouts for the work we've done in the past? How much more could *I* have made if I had a union to call for a strike until I could have that enduring benefit? How much more expensive would everything be if it all worked this way?

More residuals for writers, then directors, then actors and all others 'above the line' will only trickle down to the market. It's not going to siphon money from the media giants that run the industry, if this strike is successful; it'll impact us all, incrementally. Increased ad revenue will be required to support rising costs to produce TV shows, which bleeds into product costs for everyone. Increased ticket costs at the box office will soon follow. If DVD residuals are impacted in future negotiations, rising costs of a series season, already high for anyone not well-above middle class earnings will only get further out of reach and -- residuals on Internet media will all but stifle the real potential of what the media giants COULD do (not necessarily what they would do -- yet). Forcing residuals into the Internet could completely change the future landscape online content in a way that's not positive -- at least not in my world view.

That said, I AM empathetic to the cause -- we all want a better wage. We all struggle to find work that's meaningful, pays the bills and allow us some luxury (like a $50 trip to movies for 4). But this strike, it just feels short-sighted and narrow. Many of us, the common, viewing audience, have oft wondered how we could touch others lived, share our wisdom or experience or leave our respective marks on the world -- and that's precisely what everyone in the entertainment industry does. How many people can really say: there, that was mine. I created (or helped create) that. And 50 years, 100 years. No, presumably until the end of society, their works of art will exist for future generations to watch, enjoy and be touched by.

Personally, I'd work a 60k/yr job to have that privilege because that's a rare, rare benefit most jobs can't offer. I'm dumbfounded in disbelief that writers who choose to pursue the 'Hollywood' industry [one of the toughest to break into] are all about the money and not somehow still caught in the love.

Ellen loves what she does and the lives she touches; both on the tube and behind the scenes. I'm shocked she'd be expected to throw that away because such a small demographic wants bigger leg-up, regardless of the cost to the economy and the welfare of everyone else.

[filmguy]

I think Ellen's decision is a compasionate one because supporting the writer's strike would be a business decision. The writer's are striking for "more" of the pie. If she shuts down her show then the crew gets nothing - no income, no healthcare contributions,and a lousy Christmas for their kids. While I support the writers in their fight for "more", the crews are the ones who will lose the most and gain the absolute least. I applaud Ellen's decision! What infuriates me is that we are on strike because the two sides of this refuse to get in a room and talk. This seems criminal to me. The industry is shutting down because these highly educated, well paid people can't put their egos aside and talk. I propose that the working crews file a class-action lawsuit against these negotiators for failing to do their jobs!

[evlgnus]

The last strike invented reality TV, what horrible thing will this stike create. Besides less jobs for the writers when they come back. Most strikes are for workers to improve working conditions or keep benefits. The writers are greedy.

[cafenitro]

Dogs are "perhaps even lovers"? Dude....that's sick! Stop doing that.

I can see both sides of the debate. In the end the writers make a kajillion dollars more than me, a lowly artist/writer/musician, so I'm not TERRIBLY concerned about them, but they deserve their piece of the internet pie. Have a nice day.

[Jeffrey Sweet]

In order to get health benefits, a WGA member has to make $30,000 for writing in one year. Half of the members of the WGA don't earn enough for health benefits. That means that half of the writers aren't making as little as $30,000 a year.

By the by, I'm one of them. I've won a WGA award for writing, I've been nominated for an Emmy, and wrote a show that won a Peabody Award. I have a list of awards and swell reviews that goes on for pages, and I still can't make my nut from writing.

So don't but this dumb idea that writers are all fat, privileged people sitting out the strike on yachts. This is a very hard business. You remember how much you hated writing two or three-paged papers for high school? We're doing what you hated to do so that you have something decent to occupy your time on TV, at the movies, or through streaming content on the Internet.

The forces against us are the big-time corporations. The same folks sending jobs overseas and using every trick in the book to avoid paying their fair share of taxes that go to support your services. Why side with these awful bullies?

[Lily Sparkletoon]

Ellen could do this instead interview WGA members about the strike to get their point of view and make their voices understood

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well as a lesbian Ellen is on her own and has been since day one. She knows that ultimately you are alone when you are marginalized by sexual orientation. She lost one show when she came out. Did the writer's guild fall on it's sword when that happened? She doesn't care about people who aren't making it right now. This is her time and she isn't going to risk screwing it up. Let the Writer's Guild stop her! Behind all the managers this is what I think she thinks. This and too bad about that little doggie that might have lost a chance for happiness? Oh it was about the dog I think. I think part of the comments about how writing stinks on Television is because of the diverse society the shows recently have tried to show through their writing. Writing comedy is harder without someone to make fun of. Ironic. Maybe bring back the Nazis?

[JOSEPH CAPRIO CITYLIFEPRODUCTIONS]

THE MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE WRITERS AND PRODUCERS.IT IS TIME THEY CREATE AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE THESE DIFFERENCES CAN BE RESOLVED.IT IS OBVIOUS THAT ENEMYS ARE BEING CREATED FOR LIFE AND CAREERS RUINED. I MUST SAY I LIKED LENO BEFORE THIS STRIKE BUSINESS OCCURED NOW I ADMIRE HIM AND THE OTHERS LIKE HIM.

[Blake]

Wait a minute- Didn't the screenwriters suffer from blacklisting and now they're attacking Ellen for having a different take on a strike for more $$$?

Shame on the writers.